Risk-avoidance or utmost commitment? Dutch focus group research on cohabitation and marriage
03 Feb 2015-Demographic Research (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)-Vol. 32, Iss: 1, pp 311-340
TL;DR: This paper examined Dutch adults' perceptions of how similar or different co-habitation and marriage are, whether they believe that cohabitation would be a strategy to avoid the risk of divorce, and their views on why people marry in individualized societies.
Abstract: BACKGROUND Dutch adults grew up in a highly individualized country, characterized by high divorce rates, which may have influenced their views on cohabitation and marriage. OBJECTIVE We examine Dutch adults‘ perceptions of how similar or different cohabitation and marriage are, whether they believe that cohabitation would be a strategy to avoid the risk of divorce, as well as their views on why people marry in individualized societies. METHODS We analyze seven focus group interviews with 40 Dutch participants, collected in 2012 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. RESULTS Many participants discussed differences and similarities between cohabitation and marriage in a context of high divorce rates, and frequently viewed cohabitation as a risk-reduction strategy. At the same time, marriage was often seen as ―the real deal, in terms of legal arrangements, but also as a symbol of utmost commitment. Less educated participants viewed more financial advantages in cohabitation compared to marriage, and felt more strongly a bout the symbolic value of marriage than their highly educated counterparts. There was strong consensus that there is not, and should not be, a social norm to marry.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: Tipton as discussed by the authors examines the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD), an independent activist group dedicated to fighting the liberal tendencies within mainline political activism, particularly in foreign affairs, and shows how the IRD evolved from a primary concern with foreign affairs advocacy of the mainline to fighting against the liberal leadership on culture wars issues like abortion and homosexuality.
Abstract: essentially UMC evangelicals who have been mobilizing against the liberals in the Church leadership on many social issues. As is well known, the mainline leadership is more liberal than the membership, and evangelical leadership is more conservative than the membership. How is it that the leadership in the mainline can be forced to the right by its members? Tipton touches upon ecclesiology as the answer, but he does not sufficiently develop the insight. The most interesting part of the book is what I think is his implicit answer: conservatives from outside of the mainline facilitate the activism of the conservatives within it in order to achieve secular political goals. For example, Chapter Five examines the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD), an independent activist group dedicated to fighting the liberal tendencies within mainline political activism, particularly in foreign affairs. The chapter shows how nonor marginal mainliners associated with the neo-conservatives in the Reagan administration such as Elliot Abrams, Michael Novak and Jeane Kirkpatrick worked to de-legitimate mainline activism both within and outside of the church. With 89 percent of the funding at one point coming from foundations on the political far right, such as the Scaife Family Charitable trusts (p. 175), and with connections to secular conservative institutions such as the American Enterprise Institute, the conclusion is clear—the liberal advocacy of the elites was being suppressed by secular conservatives, not by a dissenting group within the mainline. Chapter Six shows how the IRD evolved from a primary concern with foreign affairs advocacy of the mainline to fighting against the liberal leadership on culture wars issues like abortion and homosexuality. Chapter Eight is a case study of the rise and fall of a mainline dominated interfaith coalition named “Interfaith Impact for Justice and Peace.” This group died due to its inability to master another tension in the mainline, between the church as focused on “broad social teaching and focused policy research” or “mass mobilization and political organizing.” (p. 283) Chapter Nine is a case study of the advocacy of the National Council of Churches and Chapter Ten of the creation of mainline-oriented parachurch advocacy groups like the Interfaith Alliance. Unfortunately, this book lost an opportunity to provide deeper insights into the mainline’s political influence because it focuses on the trees with little view of the forest. There are extensive discussions of particular trees—profiles of directors of agencies from decades ago, details of who said what to whom, and page-long block quotes from interviews. The reader must dig through all the detail to find the unifying themes in the analysis. I learned a lot from the book, but primarily because I could put Tipton’s detailed data into my existing theoretical narrative about the mainline. For those lacking such a narrative, Tipton does not clearly provide one. But, for any scholar hoping to make an argument about the mainline’s advocacy, they must read this book, because its data will show you that certain hypotheses are just dead wrong, and others should be pursued further.
300 citations
105 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that the divorce revolution has been a catalyst for the cohabitation boom, and survey data and official statistics in 16 countries provide evidence consistent with a link.
Abstract: Over the past decades, divorce and cohabitation have increased dramatically throughout Europe. Divorce has fundamentally altered the institution of marriage from a life-long union to one that may dissolve. Cohabitation allows couples to live together without undertaking the vows of marriage, but also allows couples to avoid the potentially higher costs of divorce. Thus, divorce and cohabitation seem to be intrinsically linked. Here we theorize how the increase in divorce may be linked to the increase in cohabitation on the macro-, meso-, and micro- levels. Using focus group data from 8 countries, we explore how divorce may have changed attitudes and beliefs concerning marriage and cohabitation. We then investigate whether survey data and official statistics in 16 countries provide evidence consistent with a link. While exogenous factors have been important for the increase in cohabitation, we argue that the divorce revolution has been a catalyst for the cohabitation boom.
48 citations
Cites background from "Risk-avoidance or utmost commitment..."
...Collaborators conducted 7–8 focus groups in the following cities: Vienna, Austria (Berghammer et al. 2014), Florence, Italy (Vignoli and Salvini 2014), Rotterdam, the Netherlands (Hiekel and Keizer 2015), Oslo, Norway (Lappegård and Noack 2015), Warsaw, Poland (Mynarska et al. 2014), Moscow, Russia (Isupova 2015), Southampton, United Kingdom (Berrington et al. 2015), and Rostock and Lubeck, Germany (Klärner 2015)....
[...]
...…groups in the following cities: Vienna, Austria (Berghammer et al. 2014), Florence, Italy (Vignoli and Salvini 2014), Rotterdam, the Netherlands (Hiekel and Keizer 2015), Oslo, Norway (Lappegård and Noack 2015), Warsaw, Poland (Mynarska et al. 2014), Moscow, Russia (Isupova 2015), Southampton,…...
[...]
...The question was not asked in the Netherlands....
[...]
...By the mid-2000s the proportion of partnered women aged 20–49 who were cohabiting was around one-quarter in Belgium and the Netherlands, and closer to one-third in Norway....
[...]
...These discourses arose in all of our study countries, but were especially prevalent in the Netherlands and the UK....
[...]
01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: Unequal Family Lives: Causes and Consequences in Europe and the Americas adds richness and depth to our understanding of the relationship between family and economics in the United States, Europe, and Latin America as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Across the Americas and Europe, the family has changed and marriage is in retreat. To answer the question of what's driving these changes and how they impact social and economic inequality, progressives have typically focused on the economic causes of changing family structures, whereas conservatives tend to stress cultural and policy roots. In this illuminating book, an international group of scholars revisit these issues, offering competing and contrasting perspectives from left, center, and right, while also adding a third layer of analysis: namely, the role of gender - changes in women's roles, male employment patterns, and gendered family responsibilities - in driving family change across three continents. Unequal Family Lives: Causes and Consequences in Europe and the Americas adds richness and depth to our understanding of the relationship between family and economics in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. This title is also available as Open Access.
37 citations
References
More filters
Book•
01 Sep 1988TL;DR: Introduction Focus Groups as Qualitative Method The Uses of Focus Groups Planning and Research Design for Focus Groups Conducting and Analyzing Focus Groups Additional Possibilities Conclusions
Abstract: Introduction Focus Groups as Qualitative Method The Uses of Focus Groups Planning and Research Design for Focus Groups Conducting and Analyzing Focus Groups Additional Possibilities Conclusions
7,977 citations
01 Jan 1988
1,777 citations
"Risk-avoidance or utmost commitment..." refers background in this paper
...Importantly, 320 http://www.demographic-research.org focus group interactions and discussions elicit context-specific social norms – in our case, regarding cohabitation and marriage (e.g., Morgan 1997; 1998)....
[...]
Book•
24 Jul 1997
TL;DR: Thoroughly covering all the information to help you start your focus group project, this guidebook is appropriate for anybody beginning a focus group, as well as managers or clients who will be using focus groups.
Abstract: Providing a general introduction to focus group research, Morgan includes the appropriate reasons for using focus groups and what you can expect to accomplish with them. He provides a brief history of focus groups, a discussion of when to use focus groups and why, and several brief case studies illustrating different uses of focus groups. The author covers the timeline and costs associated with focus groups, including a discussion of the ethical issues involved in focus group research. Thoroughly covering all the information to help you start your focus group project, this guidebook is appropriate for anybody beginning a focus group, as well as managers or clients who will be using focus groups.
1,671 citations
"Risk-avoidance or utmost commitment..." refers background in this paper
...Importantly, 320 http://www.demographic-research.org focus group interactions and discussions elicit context-specific social norms – in our case, regarding cohabitation and marriage (e.g., Morgan 1997; 1998)....
[...]
Journal Article•
TL;DR: By 1985, fertility rates in Europe were below the replacement level of 2.1 births/woman in all but Albania, Ireland, Malta, Poland, and Turkey, following a steady decline from a 1965 postwar peak well above 2.5 in Northern, Western, and Southern Europe and an erratic trend from a lower level in Eastern Europe as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: By 1985, fertility rates in Europe were below the replacement level of 2.1 births/woman in all but Albania, Ireland, Malta, Poland, and Turkey, following a steady decline from a 1965 postwar peak well above 2.5 in Northern, Western, and Southern Europe and an erratic trend from a lower level in Eastern Europe. Natural decrease (fewer births than deaths) had begun already in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, and the Federal Republic of Germany and can be expected shortly in many other countries. According to current UN medium projections, Europe's population (minus the USSR) will grow only 6% between 1985 and 2025, from 492 to 524 million and 18.4% of the population in 2025 will be 65 and over. The decline to low fertility in the 1930s during Europe's 1st demographic transition was propelled by a concern for family and offspring. Behind the 2nd transition is a dramatic shift in norms toward progressiveness and individualism, which is moving Europeans away from marriage and parenthood. Cohabitation and out-of-wedlock fertility are increasingly acceptable; having a child is more and more a deliberate choice made to achieve greater self-fulfillment. Many Europeans view population decline and aging as threats to national influence and the welfare state. However, governments outside Eastern Europe, except for France, have hesitated to try politically risky and costly economic pronatalist incentives. As used in Eastern Europe, coupled with some restrictions on legal abortion, such incentives have not managed to boost fertility back up to replacement level. Immigration as a solution is unfeasible. All countries of immigration have now imposed strict controls, tried to stimulate return migration of guestworkers recruited during labor shortages of the 1960s and early 1970s, and now aim at rapid integration of minorities. Only measures compatible with the shift to individualism might slow or reverse the fertility decline, but a rebound to replacement level seems unlikely and long-term population decline appears inevitable for most of Europe. Language: en
1,379 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: The 2011 edition of the book "Making Sense of Single Motherhood: How Motherhood Changed My Life" as discussed by the authors was the first publication of a book devoted to single motherhood.
Abstract: Preface to the 2011 Edition Introduction 1. "Before We Had a Baby ..." 2. "When I Got Pregnant ..." 3. How Does the Dream Die? 4. What Marriage Means 5. Labor of Love 6. How Motherhood Changed My Life Conclusion: Making Sense of Single Motherhood Acknowledgements Appendix A: City, Neighborhood, and Family Characteristics and Research Methods Appendix B: Interview Guide Notes References Index
1,290 citations