Family demography in the contemporary West

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Family demography in the contemporary West

• What is family demography?
• What are the dominant issues that interest
  family demographers in contemporary Western
  societies?andA look at the main patterns of
  change
• What are the influential theories for
  interpreting and understanding family change and
  processes?

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What is family demography?

• It is the study of the changing nature of
  intergenerational ties and gender ties that
  bind individuals into family units
• It broadly describes the composition and
  structure of families
• It seeks to understand the reasons behind family
  change

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The broad description of the family composition
and structure

• Measuring family households (note that this does
  not necessarily capture family relationships)
• Individual measures
• Leaving home
• Cohabitation
• Marriage
• Divorce
• Children

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The broad description of the family composition
and structure

• Measuring family households (note that this does
  not necessarily capture family relationships)
• Individual measures
• Leaving home
• Cohabitation
• Marriage
• Divorce
• Children

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Changing in leaving home
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Cohabitation

• Marked change in the last quarter of last century
• Most marriages in Australia (over 75) are
  preceded by cohabitation
• At least five types of distinguishable
  cohabitation patterns
• Temporary, casual and convenient
• A steady, sexually intimate relationship with no
  long-term plans
• Trial marriages
• Temporary alternatives to marriages
• Permanent or semi-permanent alternatives to
  marriage

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Cohabitation

• Marked change in the last quarter of last century
• Most marriages in Australia (over 75) are
  preceded by cohabitation
• At least five types of distinguishable
  cohabitation patterns
• Temporary, casual and convenient
• A steady, sexually intimate relationship with no
  long-term plans
• Trial marriages
• Temporary alternatives to marriages
• Permanent or semi-permanent alternatives to
  marriage

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Marriage, divorce and remarriage

• The institution of marriage
• Stability and change
• Proportion married
• Age at marriage
• Divorce
• Remarriage

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Per cent never married, 1901-2001
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Per cent never married, by age 1911-2001, females
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Marriage, divorce and remarriage

• The institution of marriage
• Stability and change
• Proportion married
• Age at marriage
• Divorce
• Remarriage

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Marriage, divorce and remarriage

• The institution of marriage
• Stability and change
• Proportion married
• Age at marriage
• Divorce
• Remarriage

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Future divorce risk
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Remarriage

• Remarriage
• Age patterns of remarriage
• Age when remarrying
• Likelihood of remarrying
• Why remarry?

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Influential theories for understanding family
change and dynamics

• Second demographic transition
• The institution of marriage
• A life course approach

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Second demographic transition

• No equilibrium as the end point
• Major theorists Lesthaeghe - Lesthaeghe Surkyn
  (2004), Lesthaeghe Moors (1996), Inglehart
  (1990), Aries (1980), van de Kaa (2003)
• Characterized by
• Fall in proportions married, rise in age at 1st
  marriage
• Rise in cohabitation
• Rise in divorce, earlier divorce
• Decline of remarriage
• Further decline in fertility via postponement
• Efficient contraception
• Rise extra-marital fertility, parenthood within
  cohabitation
• Rising definitive childlessness in unions

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Second demographic transition

• No equilibrium as the end point
• Major theorists Lesthaeghe - Lesthaeghe Surkyn
  (2004), Lesthaeghe Moors (1996), Inglehart
  (1990), Aries (1980), van de Kaa (2003)
• Characterized by
• Full in proportions married, rise in age at 1st
  marriage
• Rise in cohabitation
• Rise in divorce, earlier divorce
• Decline of remarriage
• Further decline in fertility via postponement
• Efficient contraception
• Rise extra-marital fertility, parenthood within
  cohabitation
• Rising definitive childlessness in unions

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The deinstitutionalization of marriage

• Major theorist Cherlin (1978, 2004)
• Started life as Remarriage as an incomplete
  institution
• This theory was applied to cohabitation
• Now has marriage become deinstitutionalized?

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The deinstitutionalization of marriage

• Major theorist Cherlin (1978, 2004)
• Started life as Remarriage as an incomplete
  institution
• This theory was applied to cohabitation
• Now has marriage become deinstitutionalized?

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The life course approach

• Major theorists Elder (1974, 1983) Hareven
  (1982)
• Trajectories - sequencing
• Transitions - events
• Family time
• Individual time
• Historical time

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References