Cohabitation, family and society / Tiziana Nazio.

"First published in 2008. Transferred to Digital Printing 2011."--T.p. verso of paperback edition.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [193]-216) and indexes.

1. Introduction -- 1.1. The Transformation of Partnerships -- 1.2. Premarital Cohabitation as a Recent Phenomenon -- 1.3. Goals of this Study -- 1.4. The Theoretical and Empirical Approach Followed -- 1.5. Overview of the Study -- 2. Diffusion Processes and Longitudinal Approach -- 2.1. A Longitudinal Approach for the Study of the Diffusion of Cohabitation -- 2.2. Practice With PreMarital Cobabitation: Differences in Europe -- 2.3. What do we Already Know? Macro-Level Explanations -- 2.4. What do we Already Know? Micro-Level Explanations -- 2.5. Individual Social Action and Macro-Level Dynamics: The Process of Diffusion -- 2.6. A Driving Engine: Social Influence -- 2.7. Social Influence: Social Learning and Social Pressure -- 2.8. A Starting Engine: Relative Advantage -- 3. The Diffusion Process of Cohabitation and Time -- 3.1. 'Structural' Versus Diffusion Accounts of Societal Change? -- 3.2. Conditions for the Identification of a Diffusion Process -- 3.3. Time Frame and the Mechanisms Driving the Diffusion Process -- 3.4. Knowledge-Awareness About Experiences of Older Cohorts -- 3.5. Direct Social Modelling of Peers -- 3.6. Results: The Diffusion of Cohabitation -- 3.7. The Diffusion Process and Institutional Constraints -- 4. Sociodemographic Factors and the Influence of Institutional Contexts -- 4.1. The Structure of Opportunity and Constraints: Relative Advantage of Cohabitation -- 4.2. The Legal Context: Law Regulations on Cohabiting Unions -- 4.3. The Cultural Contexts -- 4.4. Educational Expansion -- 4.5. Women's Employment and Increasing Uncertainty in the Labour Markets -- 4.6. Affordable Housing: The Rental Markets and Home Ownership -- 4.7. Summary of Main Hypotheses -- 5. Research Design: Combining Micro and Macro in a Comparative Perspective -- 5.1. Time and Diffusion Processes -- 5.2. Time and Variability in lndividuals' Characteristics and Contexts -- 5.3. Selection of Countries: Sample and Data -- 5.4. Event History Analysis and Diffusion Approach: The Models -- 5.5. Interdependent Processes -- 5.6. The Variables Employed -- 6. Living Independently, Marrying, and The Diffusion of Cohabitation -- 6.1. Leaving the Parental Home Other Than by Entering a Partnership? -- 6.2. Residential lndependence Before Partnering: Cross-National Differences -- 6.3. Effect of the Diffusion of Cohabitation on Early Family Formation Patterns: Changes Across Cohorts -- 6.4. Transition Out of the Parental Home -- 6.5. The Increasing Postponement of Marriage -- 6.6. The Diffusion of Cohabitation -- 6.7. Mechanisms at Play -- 6.8. Summary -- 7. Conclusions -- 7.1. Central Findings: The Theoretical Framework -- 7.2. Central Findings: The Diffusion of Cohabitation -- 7.3. Changing Modes of Partnership Formation: Marriage Postponement -- 7.4. Changing Modes of Partnership Formation: The Diffusion of Cohabitation -- 7.5. The Diffusion Process: Mechanisms at Play -- 7.6. The Interdependence Between the Union and Fertility Careers -- 7.7. A Stepping-Stone Into Adulthood: Residential lndependence -- 7.8. Implications of Research -- 7.9. Concluding Remarks.