Union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThere is a growing literature on the dynamics of immigrant fertility and mixed marriages, but partnership transitions among immigrants and ethnic minorities are little studied. OBJECTIVEThis study investigates union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in the UK. METHODSWe use data from the Understanding Society study and apply the techniques of event history analysis. We contrast partnership trajectories of various immigrant groups and compare these with those of the 'native' British population. RESULTSThe analysis shows significant differences in partnership formation and dissolution among immigrants and ethnic minorities. Women of Caribbean origin have the highest cohabitation and the lowest marriage rates, whereas cohabitation remains rare among immigrants from South Asia and their descendants, as most of them marry directly. Immigrants from the Caribbean region and their descendants also show higher divorce rates than 'native' British women, whereas women of South Asian origin have a low divorce risk.

Partnership formation and dissolution among immigrants in the Spanish context

“…Overall, union formation and dissolution processes among natives and immigrants in Spain diverge from what has been described in the literature for Western and Northern European countries (Andersson, Obućina, and Scott 2015;Hannemann and Kulu 2015;Pailhé 2015) for the last decades. The unique migration history and development of union patterns make Spain an interesting case for future research.…”

Short- and long-term effects of divorce and separation on housing tenure in England and Wales

“…The share of first unions that start as non-marital cohabitations has also increased considerably (Beaujouan and Ní Bhrolcháin 2011). Two-thirds of cohabiting unions transform to marriages and about a third end in separation within ten years (Ermisch and Francesconi 2000;Hannemann and Kulu 2015). Because cohabiting unions are less stable than marriages, the increased prevalence of cohabitation contributes to the rising number of union dissolutions (Feijten and van Ham 2010).…”

Cause-specific mortality by partnership status: simultaneous analysis using longitudinal data from England and Wales

“…In Britain, the median age of marriage for women born in the 1940s and 1950s was in the low 20s, whereas the same figure for cohorts born in the 1970s was in the low 30s; the share of married individuals declined from 90% among women born in the 1940s and 1950s to 80% among women born in the 1960s 23. In contrast, premarital and postmarital cohabitation have rapidly increased over recent decades.…”

“…One-fifth of the marriages that were formed in the 1965–1974 period ended in divorce before their 15th anniversary, whereas more than one-third of marriages have experienced separation in the marriage cohorts from 1995 onwards. Separation levels have been even higher among cohabitants 23. These significant changes in partnership patterns in industrialised countries suggest that any analysis of mortality differences by partnership should distinguish non-marital cohabitants from single and divorced individuals and treat them as separate groups.…”