Towards a new understanding of cohabitation: Insights from focus group research across Europe and Australia

BACKGROUND Across the industrialized world, more people are living together without marrying. Although researchers have compared cohabitation cross-nationally using quantitative data, few have compared union formation using qualitative data. OBJECTIVE We use focus group research to compare social norms of cohabitation and marriage in Australia and nine countries in Europe. We explore questions such as: what is the meaning of cohabitation? Is cohabitation indistinguishable from marriage, a prelude to marriage, or an alternative to being single? Are the meanings of cohabitation similar across countries? METHODS Collaborators conducted 7-8 focus groups in each country using a standardized guideline. They analysed the discussions by performing bottom-up coding within each thematic area. They then presented the data in a standardized report. The first and second authors systematically coded and analysed the reports, with direct input from collaborators. RESULTS The results from each country describe a specific picture of union formation. However, three themes emerge repeatedly in all focus groups: commitment, testing, and freedom. The pervasiveness of these concepts suggests that marriage and cohabitation have distinct meanings, with marriage representing a stronger level of commitment. Cohabitation is a way to test the relationship and represents freedom. Nonetheless, other discourses emerged in the focus groups suggesting that cohabitation has multiple meanings. CONCLUSIONS This study illuminates how context shapes partnership formation, but also presents underlying reasons for the development of cohabitation. We find that the increase in cohabitation has not devalued the concept of marriage, but has become a way to preserve marriage as an ideal for long-term commitment. ?