IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dem/wpaper/wp-2007-006.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Meanings and attitudes attached to cohabitation in Poland: qualitative analyses of the slow diffusion of cohabitation among the young generation

Author

Listed:
  • Monika A. Mynarska

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Laura Bernardi

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

This study contributes to the understanding of the low level of non-marital cohabitations in Poland at the beginning of the XXI century. We employ interpretative analysis of semi-structured interviews in order to capture the meanings and attitudes associated to non-marital cohabitation by a selected sample of young Poles. Results indicate that although cohabitation has begun to be interpreted as a testing period leading to marriage, attitudes towards it are still very ambiguous. The idealization of marital commitment hinders the spread of informal unions. Understanding the determinants of the low cohabitation rate in Poland enable us to advance grounded hypotheses on its evolution in the near future and, more generally, to illustrate the ways in which local cultures influence the diffusion of behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika A. Mynarska & Laura Bernardi, 2007. "Meanings and attitudes attached to cohabitation in Poland: qualitative analyses of the slow diffusion of cohabitation among the young generation," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2007-006, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2007-006
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2007-006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol16/17/16-17.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2007-006.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2007-006?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. Alessandro Rosina & Romina Fraboni, 2004. "Is marriage losing its centrality in Italy?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 11(6), pages 149-172.
    2. Tiziana Nazio & Hans-Peter Blossfeld, 2003. "The Diffusion of Cohabitation among Young Women in West Germany, East Germany and Italy," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 47-82, March.
    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. Andreas Klärner, 2015. "The low importance of marriage in eastern Germany - social norms and the role of peoples’ perceptions of the past," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(9), pages 239-272.
    2. Judith Treas & Jonathan Lui & Zoya Gubernskaya, 2014. "Attitudes on marriage and new relationships," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(54), pages 1495-1526.
    3. Anna Merklinger-Gruchala & Maria Kapiszewska, 2023. "Marital Status, Father Acknowledgement, and Birth Outcomes: Does the Maternal Education Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-10, March.
    4. Katrin Schwanitz & Clara Mulder & Laurent Toulemon, 2017. "Differences in leaving home by individual and parental education among young adults in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(63), pages 1975-2010.
    5. Paulina Gałęzewska & Brienna Perelli-Harris & Ann Berrington, 2017. "Cross-national differences in women's repartnering behaviour in Europe: The role of individual demographic characteristics," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(8), pages 189-228.
    6. Monika Mynarska & Anna Matysiak, 2010. "Diffusion of cohabitation in Poland," Working Papers 19, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    7. Anna Baranowska-Rataj, 2012. "What would your parents say? The impact of cohabitation on intergenerational relations in traditional societies," Working Papers 50, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    8. Joanna Z. Mishtal, 2009. "Understanding low fertility in Poland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(20), pages 599-626.
    9. Laura Bernardi & Inge Hutter, 2007. "The anthropological demography of Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 17(18), pages 541-566.
    10. Anna Matysiak, 2009. "Is Poland really 'immune' to the spread of cohabitation?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(8), pages 215-234.
    11. Anna Baranowska, 2011. "Premarital conceptions and their resolution. The decomposition of trends in rural and urban areas in Poland 1985-2009," Working Papers 27, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    12. Anna Merklinger-Gruchala & Maria Kapiszewska, 2019. "The Effect of Prenatal Stress, Proxied by Marital and Paternity Status, on the Risk of Preterm Birth," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-19, January.
    13. Brienna Perelli-Harris & Monika Mynarska & Ann Berrington & Caroline Berghammer & Anna Evans & Olga Isupova & Renske Keizer & Andreas Klärner & Trude Lappegård & Daniele Vignoli, 2014. "Towards a new understanding of cohabitation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(34), pages 1043-1078.
    14. Paola Di Giulio & Roberto Impicciatore & Maria Sironi, 2019. "The changing pattern of cohabitation: A sequence analysis approach," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(42), pages 1211-1248.
    15. Caroline Berghammer & Katrin Fliegenschnee & Eva-Maria Schmidt, 2014. "Cohabitation and marriage in Austria," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(37), pages 1137-1166.
    16. Monika Mynarska & Anna Baranowska-Rataj & Anna Matysiak, 2014. "Free to stay, free to leave: Insights from Poland into the meaning of cohabitation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(36), pages 1107-1136.

    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. Amore, Mario Daniele & Miller, Danny & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Corbetta, Guido, 2017. "For love and money: Marital leadership in family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 461-476.
    2. Paola Di Giulio & Alessandro Rosina, 2006. "Intergenerational family ties and the diffusion of cohabitation in Italy," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2006-038, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    3. Monika Mynarska & Laura Bernardi, 2007. "Meanings and attitudes attached to cohabitation in Poland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 16(17), pages 519-554.
    4. Monika Mynarska & Anna Matysiak, 2010. "Diffusion of cohabitation in Poland," Working Papers 19, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    5. Anna Baranowska-Rataj, 2012. "What would your parents say? The impact of cohabitation on intergenerational relations in traditional societies," Working Papers 50, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    6. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Emanuela Dreassi & Emilia Rocco & Daniele Vignoli, 2017. "A subregional space-time exploration of family change: Italian municipalities, 1991-2011," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2017_03, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    7. Agnese Vitali & Romina Fraboni, 2022. "Pooling of Wealth in Marriage: The Role of Premarital Cohabitation," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(4), pages 721-754, October.
    8. Paola Di Giulio & Roberto Impicciatore & Maria Sironi, 2019. "The changing pattern of cohabitation: A sequence analysis approach," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(42), pages 1211-1248.
    9. Jenjira Yahirun & Dana Hamplová, 2014. "Children’s union status and contact with mothers: A cross-national study," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(51), pages 1413-1444.
    10. Anna Matysiak, 2009. "Is Poland really 'immune' to the spread of cohabitation?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(8), pages 215-234.
    11. Elena Pirani & Daniele Vignoli, 2014. "Are spouses more satisfied than cohabitors? A survey over the last twenty years in Italy," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2014_09, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    12. Elena Pirani, 2016. "Intergenerational contact across marriage and cohabitation in Italy. Something new?," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2016_07, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    13. Paola Di Giulio & Alessandro Rosina, 2007. "Intergenerational family ties and the diffusion of cohabitation in Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 16(14), pages 441-468.
    14. Raffaele Guetto & Moreno Mancosu & Stefani Scherer & Giulia Torricelli, 2016. "The Spreading of Cohabitation as a Diffusion Process: Evidence from Italy," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 661-686, December.
    15. Alessandro Rosina & Romina Fraboni, 2004. "Is marriage losing its centrality in Italy?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 11(6), pages 149-172.
    16. Gabriele Ballarino & Michela Braga & Massimiliano Bratti & Daniele Checchi & Antonio Filippin & Carlo V. Fiorio & Marco Leonardi & Elena Meschi & Francesco Scervini, 2013. "GINI Country Report: Growing Inequalities and their Impacts in Italy," GINI Country Reports italy, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    17. Cisotto, Elisa & Meli, Eleonora & Cavrini, Giulia, 2021. "Grandparents in Italy: trends and changes in the demography of grandparenthood from 1998 to 2016," SocArXiv 4nh5e, Center for Open Science.
    18. Soo-Jung Byoun & Shinwoo Choi & Hye-Young Kim, 2021. "Exploring the Diverse Family Structures in South Korea: Experiences and Perspectives of Nonmartial Cohabitants," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, August.
    19. Nazio, Tiziana & Saraceno, Chiara, 2010. "The impact of cohabitation without marriage on intergenerational contacts: A test of the diffusion theory," Discussion Papers, Research Professorship Demographic Development, Social Change, and Social Capital SP I 2010-402, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    20. Andreas Klärner, 2015. "The low importance of marriage in eastern Germany - social norms and the role of peoples’ perceptions of the past," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(9), pages 239-272.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Poland; attitude; cohabitation; qualitative methods;
    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:wpaper:wp-2007-006. 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: Peter Wilhelm (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.