Conjugal unions and reproductive strategies in Brazil

Data from the 1960 and 1970 censuses and from surveys conducted by the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning between 1975 and 1977 were used to analyze changing patterns of conjugal unions in Brazil. Consensual unions have increased significantly throughout the country at the expense of religious unions and often even of legal unions. More recent unions tend to be consensual while older unions are religious. Most of the unions surveyed (88%) were 1st unions; of these 71% were legal unions. The proportion of religious unions has declined over time dropping from 18.4% among those cohorts united before 1960 to 7.3% among those united after 1970. The decline has been particularly marked in urban areas where the proportion fell from 14.0% to 2.6%. Questions concerning the relative advantages of the different types of unions reveal that informants of both sexes consider civil marriages to be better because they provide economic and psychological security to families spouses and children in addition to social legitimacy and legal protection. Financial aspects are considered particularly important for women while the legality of the union is seen as especially advantageous for men. The absence of legal ties and material insecurity are considered to be the chief advantages of purely religious unions. At the same time the lack of legal restraints against "switching wives" is seen as the major advantage of consensual union for men. Yet the instability of relations is seen as the main disadvantage of consensual unions. 1/2 of all informants feel that couples should separate if the marriage is not going well. Curiously those from the more traditional sectors of the country tend to be more pro-separation. Although consensual unions are found at all socioeconomic levels they predominate among the less affluent. In most regions women in religious unions tend to have more children on the average than the rest; those in consensual unions have the fewest. Between 1970 and 1976 the average age at which unions are entered tended to rise. Informants indicated that the best age for women to marry was between 20 and 24 years; for men 25-29 years. The ages for both sexes are lower in the rural areas. Marriage is seen as a rite of passage into responsible maturity and women are considered to mature earlier than men. As the age at marriage increases and unions are postponed fertility can be expected to decrease.