Projects
The consequences of new living arrangements in cross-national comparison
Project contributors: Perelli-Harris B, Hoherz S, Styrc M,
This Project is part of the following research programme/s:
Overview
Countries throughout Europe and the US are experiencing profound changes in the family, particularly due to increases in cohabitation and union dissolution, as well as childbearing outside of marriage. These changes raise questions about the consequences of these new family arrangements and whether they may be associated with poor outcomes. Previous studies have found that marriage benefits health, wealth, and well-being by providing social support, intimacy, and protection. However, much of the previous research was conducted in earlier decades and usually in the US, when cohabitation was less common and selective of particular characteristics. In addition, most of this research compared the married and unmarried, without distinguishing between cohabiting and single people. Given the increase in the prevalence and duration of cohabitation, it is no longer clear that the act of marriage per se matters for well-being or health; simply forming a lasting partnership may provide similar social and emotional benefits. Thus, it is important to investigate whether new living arrangements now result in similar outcomes as marriage.
This project compares the consequences of new family arrangements in a number of diverse settings that represent different welfare regimes and cultural contexts: Australia, Norway, Germany, the UK, and the US. The collaborative team is systematically analysing a range of partnership behaviours and childbearing in different types of partnerships. The team is exploring a number of outcomes in mid-life, including mental well-being, health, depression, wealth, satisfaction with life, and wage differentials. They primarily employ Propensity Score Matching, or Propensity-score weighted regression, which reduces selection bias by matching respondents with similar characteristics and observing the effect of the treatment, i.e. different living arrangements. By collaborating on methods and measures, the collaborators aim to present a cohesive study that compares the consequences of new family behaviours across countries.
Publications & Activities
Perelli-Harris B, Carbone J, DeRose L, Bradford-Wilcox W, Cahn N, (2018) Unequal Family Lives. The Consequences of New Living Arrangements in Cross-national Comparison in Unequal Family Lives. The Consequences of New Living Arrangements in Cross-national Comparison
Cambridge University Press
Do marriage and cohabitation provide benefits to health in mid-life? The role of childhood selection mechanisms and partnership characteristics across countries
Population Research and Policy Review (2018). 12 (3) 1-26
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Hoherz S, Addo F, Lappegård T, Evans A, Sassler S, Styrc M,
Differences in subjective well-being between marriage and cohabitation in mid-life in the UK, Australia, Germany, and Norway.
Social Statistics and Demography Seminar Series (2017). (University of Southampton)
Authors: Hoherz S,
Comparing the benefits of cohabitation and marriage for health in mid-life: Is the relationship similar across countries?
Southampton, CPC (2017). Series Number: 84.
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M, Addo F, Hoherz S, Sassler S, Evans A,
The rise in divorce and cohabitation: Is there a link?
Population and Development Review (2017).
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Berrington A, Sanchez-Gassen N, Galezewska P, Holland J,
Do Early Life Conditions Explain Differences in Subjective Well-Being Between Marriage and Cohabitation? a Comparison Between Australia, the UK, Germany, and Norway.
PAA 2017 (2017). (Hilton Chicago)
Authors: Hoherz S, Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M, Evans A,
Partnership Status and the Wage Premium in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Norway: What Explains Differentials Between Married and Cohabiting Adults?
PAA 2017 (2017). (Hilton Chicago)
Authors: Addo F, Perelli-Harris B, Hoherz S, Sassler S,
Universal or unique? Understanding diversity in partnership experiences across Europe
Family Inequality: Causes and Consequences in Europe and the Americas (2017). (Roma Tre University)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B,
Cross-national differences in women's repartnering behaviour in Europe: The role of individual demographic characteristics
Demographic Research (2017). 37 (8) 189-228
Authors: Galezewska P, Perelli-Harris B, Berrington A,
Mental Well-Being Differences in Cohabitation and Marriage: The Role of Childhood Selection
Journal of Marriage and Family (2017). 80 239-255
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M,
Do early life conditions explain differences in subjective well-being between marriage and cohabitation? A comparison between Australia, the UK, Germany, and Norway
International Population Conference 2017 (2017). (Cape Town)
Authors: Hoherz S, Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M, Lappegård T, Evans A,
Partnership status and the wage premium in mid-life in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Norway
Genderball Conference (2017). (Leuven, Belgium)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B,
Partnership dynamics and inequality
Child Poverty and Social Mobility: Lessons for Research and Policy Family Change and Social Inequality workshop (2016). (University of Southampton)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B,
A snapshot on marriage and cohabitation in Europe
Understanding population change in Europe and China: Sharing research experiences for policy development (2016). (University of Southampton)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B,
Union status and Income at Mid-life in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Norway: can selection and childbearing explain the association?
European Consortium for Sociological Research (ECSR) 2016 Conference (2016). (University of Oxford)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Addo F, Hoherz S, Lappegård T, Sassler S,
Union status and Income at Mid-life in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Norway: can selection and childbearing explain the association?
2016 BSPS Conference (2016). (University of Winchester)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Addo F, Hoherz S, Lappegård T, Sassler S,
Comparing the Benefits of Cohabitation and Marriage for Health and Happiness in Mid-life: Is the Relationship similar across Countries?
EPC 2016 (2016). (Mainz, Germany)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M, Addo F, Lappegård T, Sassler S, Evans A,
Re-evaluating the link between marriage and mental well-being: How do early life conditions attenuate differences between cohabitation and marriage?
CPC (2016). Series Number: 75.
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M,
Does Marriage Matter? Revisited: The Fertility, Mortality and Stability of the Swedish 1989 Marriage Boom Cohort
Population Association of America, Washington D.C., 2016 (2016). (Marriott Wardman Park, Washington D.C.)
Authors: Holland J, Perelli-Harris B, Andersson G,
Comparing the Benefits of Cohabitation and Marriage for Health and Happiness in Mid-Life: Is the Relationship Similar Across Countries?
Population Association of America, Washington D.C., 2016 (2016). (Marriott Wardman Park, Washington D.C.)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M, Addo F, Lappegård T, Sassler S, Evans A,
Re-evaluating the link between marriage and mental well-being: How do early life conditions attenuate differences between cohabitation and marriage
Journal of Marriage and Family (2016).
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M,
Union formation and mid-life well-being: is cohabitation as good as marriage?
BSPS Conference 2015 (2015). (University of Leeds)
Authors: Styrc M, Perelli-Harris B, Evans A, Lappegård T, Addo F, Sassler S,
Impact of changes in union formation and dissolution on fertility
XII Conference of Young Demographers (2015). (Poznan, Poland)
Authors: Styrc M,
Union formation and mental well-being: Does marriage matter when cohabitation is common?
XII Conference of Young Demographers (2015). (Poznan, Poland)
Authors: Styrc M, Perelli-Harris B,
Do relationships make you happy? Investigating union formation and positive mental health in Great Britain
CLS Cohort Studies Research Conference 2015 (2015). (Institute of Education, University of London)
Authors: Perelli-Harris B, Styrc M,
