IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v21y2009i7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

"Living Apart Together" relationships in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Charles Strohm

    (University of California, Los Angeles)

  • Judith Seltzer

    (University of California, Los Angeles)

  • Susan Cochran

    (University of California, Los Angeles)

  • Vickie Mays

    (University of California, Los Angeles)

Abstract

We use two surveys to describe the demographic and attitudinal correlates of being in “Living Apart Together” (LAT), cohabiting, and marital relationships for heterosexuals, lesbians, and gay men. About one third of U.S. adults not married or cohabiting are in LAT relationships – these individuals would be classified as “single” in conventional studies that focus on residential unions. Gay men are somewhat more likely than heterosexual men to be in LAT relationships. For heterosexuals and lesbians, LAT relationships are more common among younger people. Heterosexuals in LAT unions are less likely to expect to marry their partners, but more likely to say that couples should be emotionally dependent than are cohabiters. Regardless of sexual orientation, people in LAT relationships perceive similar amounts of emotional support from partners, but less instrumental support than cohabiters perceive.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Strohm & Judith Seltzer & Susan Cochran & Vickie Mays, 2009. ""Living Apart Together" relationships in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(7), pages 177-214.
  • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:21:y:2009:i:7
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2009.21.7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol21/7/21-7.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2009.21.7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Teresa Castro Martín & Marta Dominguez Folgueras & Teresa Martín García, 2008. "Not truly partnerless: Non-residential partnerships and retreat from marriage in Spain," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 18(16), pages 443-468.
    2. Larry Bumpass, 1990. "What’s happening to the family? Interactions between demographic and institutional change," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 27(4), pages 483-498, November.
    3. Dan Black & Gary Gates & Seth Sanders & Lowell Taylor, 2000. "Demographics of the gay and lesbian population in the United States: Evidence from available systematic data sources," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(2), pages 139-154, May.
    4. Christopher Carpenter & Gary Gates, 2008. "Gay and lesbian partnership: Evidence from California," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(3), pages 573-590, August.
    5. Johan Surkyn & Ron Lesthaeghe, 2004. "Value Orientations and the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) in Northern, Western and Southern Europe: An Update," Demographic Research Special Collections, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 3(3), pages 45-86.
    6. repec:cai:popine:popu_p1996_51n4-5_0927 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Matthijs Kalmijn & Anneke Loeve & Dorien Manting, 2007. "Income dynamics in couples and the dissolution of marriage and cohabitation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(1), pages 159-179, February.
    8. Marcia Carlson & Sara Mclanahan & Paula England, 2004. "Union formation in fragile families," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(2), pages 237-261, May.
    9. Ron J. Lesthaeghe & Lisa Neidert, 2006. "The Second Demographic Transition in the United States: Exception or Textbook Example?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 32(4), pages 669-698, December.
    10. Dan A. Black & Seth G. Sanders & Lowell J. Taylor, 2007. "The Economics of Lesbian and Gay Families," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 53-70, Spring.
    11. Cochran, S.D. & Mays, V.M., 2007. "Physical health complaints among lesbians, gay men, and bisexual and homosexually experienced heterosexual individuals: Results from the California quality of life survey," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(11), pages 2048-2055.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Martina Štípková, 2013. "Declining health disadvantage of non-marital children," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(25), pages 663-706.
    2. Elena Mariani & Berkay Özcan & Alice Goisis, 2017. "Family Trajectories and Well-being of Children Born to Lone Mothers in the UK," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 185-215, May.
    3. Stefan Mauritz & Michael Wagner, 2021. "LAT relationships: A new living arrangement among the oldest old population in Germany?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(14), pages 349-362.
    4. Arnaud Régnier-Loilier, 2016. "Partnership trajectories of people in stable non-cohabiting relationships in France," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(40), pages 1169-1212.
    5. Alejandrina Salcedo & Todd Schoellman & Michèle Tertilt, 2012. "Families as roommates: Changes in U.S. household size from 1850 to 2000," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 3(1), pages 133-175, March.
    6. Inge Pasteels & Vicky Lyssens-Danneboom & Dimitri Mortelmans, 2017. "A Life Course Perspective on Living Apart Together: Meaning and Incidence Across Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 799-817, January.
    7. Dawne M Mouzon & Robert Joseph Taylor & Linda M Chatters, 2020. "Gender differences in marriage, romantic involvement, and desire for romantic involvement among older African Americans," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Arnaud Régnier-Loilier & Daniele Vignoli, 2018. "The diverse nature of living apart together relationships: an Italy–France comparison," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-22, March.
    9. Jonathan Vespa, 2012. "Union Formation in Later Life: Economic Determinants of Cohabitation and Remarriage Among Older Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(3), pages 1103-1125, August.
    10. Alisa C. Lewin, 2018. "Intentions to Live Together Among Couples Living Apart: Differences by Age and Gender," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 721-743, December.
    11. Arnaud Régnier-Loilier & Daniele Vignoli, 2014. "Similar incidence, different nature? Characteristics of Living Apart Together relationships in France and Italy," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2014_11, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Gonzales, Gilbert & McKay, Tara & Sansone, Dario, 2020. "Effects of the Affordable Care Act Dependent Coverage Mandate on Health Insurance Coverage for Individuals in Same-Sex Couples," IZA Discussion Papers 13119, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Robin Fisher & Geof Gee & Adam Looney, 2018. "Same-Sex Married Tax Filers After Windsor and Obergefell," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(4), pages 1423-1446, August.
    3. Oreffice, Sonia, 2011. "Sexual orientation and household decision making.: Same-sex couples' balance of power and labor supply choices," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 145-158, April.
    4. Rebecca DiBennardo & Gary Gates, 2014. "Research Note: US Census Same-Sex Couple Data: Adjustments to Reduce Measurement Error and Empirical Implications," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(4), pages 603-614, August.
    5. Brodeur, Abel & Haddad, Joanne, 2021. "Institutions, attitudes and LGBT: Evidence from the gold rush," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 92-110.
    6. Jennifer Kane, 2013. "A Closer Look at the Second Demographic Transition in the US: Evidence of Bidirectionality from a Cohort Perspective (1982–2006)," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(1), pages 47-80, February.
    7. Negrusa, Brighita & Oreffice, Sonia, 2010. "Sexual Orientation and Household Savings: Do Homosexual Couples Save More?," IZA Discussion Papers 4961, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Kara Joyner & Wendy Manning & Ryan Bogle, 2017. "Gender and the Stability of Same-Sex and Different-Sex Relationships Among Young Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    9. Christopher S. Carpenter, 2008. "Sexual orientation, work, and income in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(4), pages 1239-1261, November.
    10. Corinne Reczek & Hui Liu & Dustin Brown, 2014. "Cigarette Smoking in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Unions: The Role of Socioeconomic and Psychological Factors," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(4), pages 527-551, August.
    11. Wendy Manning & Pamela Smock & Cassandra Dorius & Elizabeth Cooksey, 2014. "Cohabitation Expectations Among Young Adults in the United States: Do They Match Behavior?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(2), pages 287-305, April.
    12. Stephan Humpert, 2012. "Somewhere over the Rainbow: Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Germany," Working Paper Series in Economics 245, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    13. Kenneth Aarskaug Wiik & Ane Seierstad & Turid Noack, 2012. "Divorce in norwegian same-sex marriages 1993-2011," Discussion Papers 723, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    14. Brienna Perelli-Harris, 2014. "How Similar are Cohabiting and Married Parents? Second Conception Risks by Union Type in the United States and Across Europe," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 30(4), pages 437-464, November.
    15. Marieka Klawitter, 2015. "Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Sexual Orientation on Earnings," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 4-32, January.
    16. Michael E. Martell & Peyton Nash, 2020. "For Love and Money? Earnings and Marriage Among Same-Sex Couples," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 260-294, September.
    17. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    18. Jepsen, Christopher & Jepsen, Lisa K., 2009. "Does home ownership vary by sexual orientation?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 307-315, May.
    19. Mary Eschelbach Hansen & Michael E. Martell, 2014. "Self-Identified Sexual Orientation and the Lesbian Earnings Differential," Working Papers 2014-13, American University, Department of Economics.
    20. Josef Montag, 2015. "What Drives the Gender Gap? An Analysis Using Sexual Orientation," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 577-608, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    attitudes; cohabitation; marriage; second demographic transition; same-sex couples; social support; living apart together (LAT); nonresidential partnership; homosexual; gay; lesbian;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:21:y:2009:i:7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.