Neither single, nor in a couple: A study of living apart together in France
Dr Eva Beaujouan, a Social Statistics & Demography research fellow, has recently published 2 chapters in an edited collection of papers on the contemporary family.
Eva's first study Neither single, nor in a couple: A study of living apart together in France addresses questions such as; How have non-cohabiting relationships evolved in recent decades? How can we recognise these relationships, and who are the populations concerned?
By providing an overview of non-cohabiting relationships in France, this study sheds light on the characteristics of both the individuals concerned and their relationships. The study finds there has been no recent increase in the prevalence of living apart together (LAT). Moreover, LAT competes with cohabiting relationships both among students and among people with cohabiting children. Four main groups of living apart relationships are described: Young adults, Out of a family, Single parents, and Seniors, the reasons for living apart as well as future intentions vary considerably across these groups.
You can read more about this study in:
Beaujouan , Rgnier-Loilier A and Villeneuve-Gokalp C (2009) Ni seuls ni en couple. Les relations amoureuses non cohabitantes. In Rgnier-Loilier A (ed.) Portraits de familles : Lenqute tude des relations familiales et intergnrationnelles. Paris, Ined, 87-112 (text in French).
A related article on the same study can be downloaded here (text in English).