A matter of norms: Family background, religion, and generational change in the diffusion of first union breakdown among French-speaking Quebeckers

Abstract

BACKGROUNDPrevious research conducted in societies where unmarried cohabitation remains limited suggests that having grown up with unmarried parents fosters marital instability. There is little research on this relationship in societies where unmarried cohabitation has become common. OBJECTIVEWe take advantage of the concurrent diffusion of unmarried cohabitation and union breakdown among French-speaking Quebeckers to examine whether family background (having grown up with unmarried parents and parental separation) and religion (reporting a denomination and religious attendance) have been key factors (intermediate variables) in the diffusion of conjugal instability or have been different consequences of a process of normative change unfolding across cohorts. METHODSWe use a subsample of 2,265 first unions from the 2011 Canadian General Social Survey. We estimate the hazard function and the effects of the independent variables on the hazard of breakdown using Royston-Parmar flexible hazards models. RESULTSResults show that having grown up with unmarried parents has no effect on the hazard of breakdown despite the increasing proportion of respondents having lived in this form of family, whereas religious attendance does have an effect despite its decreasing importance. Parental separation increases the hazard of marital disruption for men but not for women. CONTRIBUTIONAmong French-speaking Quebeckers, the diffusion of unmarried cohabitation and of union breakdown seem to be two aspects of a profound shift in norms regarding family life rather than being related to each other in a direct causal way.1 Centre Urbanisation Culture Société, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Université du Québec, Canada. E-Mail: benoit.laplante@ucs.inrs.ca.Laplante: Family background, religion, and generational change in the diffusion of first union breakdown 784http://www.demographic-research.org Context and objectivesThe transformations that occurred in family life among French-speaking Quebeckers over the last decades, and especially the concurrent diffusion of unmarried cohabitation and union breakdown, provide a unique setting for the study of the relation between some aspects of normative and behavioural change in family life. Union breakdown was still relatively uncommon among the people born between 1931 and 1940: Only 20% of their first union ended in breakdown after 30 years. However, more than half of first unions broke down after fewer than 20 years among the people born between 1971 and 1980. This change did not occur alone. Whereas marriage was the normal onset of conjugal life for almost all individuals born between 1931 and 1940, more than 90% of those born between 1971 and 1980 started their conjugal life with unmarried cohabitation, most of them not having married their partner before the breakdown of the union or the time of the survey. These changes occurred as religious affiliation decreased and religious attendance plummeted. From one cohort to the next, the proportion of children who grew ...

Igaz, hogy az idősebbek vallásosabbak?

“…A hatás kétirányúságát valószínűsíti, hogy számos kutatás a vallásosság változásának az értékekre gyakorolt hatását bizonyította. Kanadában a francia ajkú Québec tartományban élők körében a Canadian General Social Survey 2011-es adatai szerint a válás és a különélés valószínűsége nem függött ugyan attól, hogy a szülők házasok voltak-e, a vallásgyakorlás (templomba járás) gyakoriságától viszont igen (Laplante 2016). Megint csak az Egyesült Államokban figyelték meg, hogy a vallásgyakorlás változása befolyásolta az adakozási hajlandóságot.…”