Intergenerational family ties and the diffusion of cohabitation in Italy

Abstract

Cohabitation has been spreading in the population during the last thirty years, and this is one of the most striking aspects of wider social changes that have taken place throughout the industrialized world. However, this change did not take place uniformly across Europe. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current debate around the compatibility of cohabitation experiences with the Italian cultural context. Using an individuallevel diffusion approach we obtain results that are consistent with the crucial role that family ties play in the choice of cohabitation in place of (or before) marriage.

Religion and union formation in Italy: Catholic precepts, social pressure, and tradition

“…The pressure is not explicit and strong, but it is felt. This finding supports the argument of a link between strong family ties and the lack of development of cohabitation (Rosina and Fraboni 2004;Di Giulio and Rosina 2007;Schröder 2008). Since parents tend to discourage their offspring from non-normative behaviors (such as cohabitation), their adult children are confronted with strong pressure when making their own choices.…”

“…Consistent with the familistic interpretation of Italian family formation practices (Dalla Zuanna 2001;Rosina and Fraboni 2004;Di Giulio and Rosina 2007), the pressure to marry originated by the family of origin is seen as more relevant than the voices of "the others". One female respondent put this quite clearly: "In the decision to marry instead of cohabit, the family is much more important than friends" (FG2, woman, highly educated).…”

“…For instance, Rosina and Fraboni (2004) suggest that in Italy young adults weigh the decision to adopt a new living arrangement with the level of acceptance of their family of origin. Parents view the failure of their children as their own failure and they may try to discourage their offspring from doing things that are socially uncommon or not accepted (Di Giulio and Rosina 2007), such as behaving counter to the prevailing Catholic doctrine.…”

Not truly partnerless: Non-residential partnerships and retreat from marriage in Spain

“…Strong family ties are manifest in multiple life spheres, such as the prolonged permanence in the parental home (Moreno 2003), the support from the parental family to set up a new household and buy a house, the high residential proximity afterwards, and the continuous contact, economic support and care transfers throughout the life course (Tomassini et al 2003). In this context of strong family ties, parents' traditional values have been hypothesized to account for the low diffusion of cohabitation (Di Giulio and Rosina 2007). Young adults, in spite of favoring cohabitation, would refrain from cohabiting in order to avoid confrontation with their parents, whose financial assistance is often needed in order to achieve residential independence Fraboni 2004, Schröder 2005).…”

Cohabitation in Europe: a revenge of history?

“…European family systems differ to the degree in which adult children depended on parental approval and support (Reher, 1998). It is likely that in regions with strong family ties the diffusion of cohabitation in the twentieth century was delayed, until the parents themselves had accepted or even experienced it (Di Giulio & Rosina, 2007).…”