Solo-Living: Trends in Living Alone

Transcription

1 Solo-Living: Trends in Living Alone Amongst Adults of Working Age Roona Simpson, Lynn Jamieson and Fran Wasoff CRFR, University of Edinburgh Draft presentation. Not for citation without author's permission UNDERSTANDING EUROPEAN LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: PERSPECTIVES FROM ANTHROPOLOGICAL DEMOGRAPHY th December 2009 London School of Economics

2 Proportion of one person households, 1950/51 to 1999, selected Council of Europe countries 1950 or or 1970 or 1980 or Austria Belgium 15.8 (1947) Denmark (West) Germany France 19.1 (1954) Greece Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

3 Great Britain: Trends in Household Size Source: General Household Survey, ONS

4 People Living Alone, by Gender and Age Group (%), Scotland, 2006 (General Register Office, Scotland) Men 30 Women Age Bands

5 Theoretical et Context: t The processes by which people come to be living alone at ages more conventionally associated with being partnered and raising children, and their commitment to remaining so, are of significance to theoretical accounts of the impact of wider social change on trends in family and household formation. Debates of demographers over the 'second demographic transition'. Sociological theorising on individualisation as underpinning a turn away from conventional family life.

6 Research on solo-living living mapping the typical socioeconomic characteristics of people who live alone and quantifying movements in and out of solo-living living over time ( stocks and flows ) challenges notions of solo-livers livers as a fixed, distinct population. Crossnational comparisons indicate importance of context. Social and geographical patterning challenges claims of epochal shifts. (Chandler et al 2004, de Vaus and Richardson 2009, Hall et al. 1997, 1999, Hall and Ogden 2003, Haskey 1987, Jamieson et al 2009, Williams 2007, Williams et al 2004, Wasoff and Jamieson 2005a, 2005b).

7 Patterns of change in the social sexual order of partnership USA: dualism of marriage and non-marriage higher rates of young marriage, virginal marriage and young childbearing, high rates of youth independence, single parenthood and divorce North/Western Europe: Early youth independence, late marriage, cohabitation/sex ti before marriage more established norms. Southern Europe: Leaving parental home on marriage, late marriage, low rates of divorce/lone parenthood. Eastern Europe: transition degree of divergence from long established nearly universal marriage. High divorce rates alongside higher rates of marriage, less cohabitation/sex before marriage than northwestern Europe. Goran Therborn (2004) Between Sex and Power: Family in the World

8 Rural and Urban Solo Living: Social Integration, Quality of Life and Future Orientations (ESRC RES ) Two year study focusing on the social capital, quality of life and present and future orientations of men and women aged living alone in urban/rural localities in Scotland. Analysis of the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) Semi-structured telephone interviews with 140 individuals using the SHS as a sampling frame (75 men, 65 women). In-depth follow-up interviews with 40 individuals.

9 Partner relationships of solo-livers: meanings and motivations This research explored whether solo-livers who had or wished to have intimate sexual/romantic relationships, sought to sustain a separation of such relationships from co-residence, parenting and family life. Several commentators suggest living-apart-together relationships are of increasing contemporary significance. The term living-apart-together describes a sexual relationship between partners who define themselves as a couple, are seen as such by other people, and have separate homes. Distinguished from both commuter marriages or distance relationships of couples who may maintain two residences and spend time apart but who share one home, as well as more temporary or casual sexual relationships. However, it should be noted that a range of different understanding of the meaning of LAT persist in the literature, and varying sorts of distance relationships and living i apart together th exist in practice (Roseneil, 2006). (Duncan and Philips 2008, Ermisch and Seidler 2008, Haskey 2005, Holmes 2006, de Jong Gierveld 2004, Levin 2004, Roseneil 2006)

10 Well, it was a two and a half year relationship but I always knew, and made him understand, d that t it wasn t anything more than a companion/sexual friendship. Social relationship I called it, and that t I didn t want it to be anything else, that he wasn t moving in basically (laughs), although he would have (laughs) happily moved in (Violet, 40, rural)

11 We re seriously contemplating totally moving back together and having the whole family atmosphere [ ] we re just going to, just have more fun as a family and respect and just being responsible for everything that we want to share together. The main reason is just because of the, you know, the main reason is to have the kids every day and be able to have the same base for them and a solid founding (Brian, 42, rural, 10 year relationship, 2 children)

12 Now I d say it was a choice [ ] at the time I would have said it was something unplanned, but no, now I choose, I definitely choose to live on my own (Angela, 44, rural, 14 month relationship)

13 We re both happy with our own lives and we re happy to share part of our lives with each other but to keep our own sort of life (Angela, 44, rural, 14 month relationship)

14 Caveats Defining LATs in terms of those who have settled on or chosen to live apart together is difficult to operationalise, even with qualitative ti data. It assumes that people know and can articulate their views on this, and that they are unequivocal, which does not always seem to be the case. Definition of the situation is further complicated by the fact that a relationship takes two people who may not have a shared view. The dynamic nature of living arrangements mean that people may move in and out of different statuses, with the meanings they ascribe to these at any particular time also subject Centre to change. for Research on Families and Relationships

15 References: Chandler, J., Williams, M., Maconachie, M., Collett. T., and Dodgeon, B. (2004) Living alone: its place in household formation and change. Sociological Research Online, 9:3. de Gierveld, J. (2004). Remarriage, Unmarried Cohabitation, Living Apart Together: Partner Relationships Following Bereavement or Divorce. Journal of Marriage and the Family 66, de Vaus, D, and Richardson, S. (2009) Living alone in Australia Trends in sole living and characteristics of those who live alone, Occasional Paper 2009: Census Series Number 4, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Duncan, S. and Phillips, M. (2008) New families? Tradition and change in partnering and relationships, in British Social Attitudes 2007/8, London, NatCen, Sage Ermisch, J. and Seidler, T.. (2008) Living Apart Together, in Emrisch, J. and Byrnin, M. (eds). Changing Relationships, Routledge. Hall R, Ogden P E., Hill C. (1997) The pattern and structure of one-person households in England and Wales and France, International Journal of Population Geography, 3 (2), Hall R, Ogden P E., Hill C. (1999). Living alone: evidence from England and Wales and France for the last two decades. In S McRae (Ed.) Changing Britain. Families and Households in the 1990s. ( ) Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hall R, Ogden P E (2003). The rise of living alone in Inner London: trends among the population of working age. Environment and Planning A 35, Haskey, J (2005) Living arrangements in contemporary Britain: having a partner who usually lives elsewhere; Living-apart-together, LAT. Population Trends 122, 35-46

16 Holmes, M. (2006). Love Lives at a Distance: Distance Relationships over the Lifecourse, Sociological Research Online 11 Jamieson, L. Wasoff, F. and Simpson, R. (2009) Solo-Living, Demographic and Family Change: The Need to Know More About Men, Sociological Research Online Volume 14, Issue 2/3, published 31/5/2009 Levin, I. (2004) Living apart together: A new family form, Current Sociology 52, pp Roseneil, S. (2006). 'On Not Living with a Partner: Unpicking Coupledom and Cohabitation'. Sociological Research Online 11. Williams, M. (2007). Solo-living and Life Course Changes : Full Research Report. ESRC End of Award Report, RES Swindon: ESRC Williams M., Maconachie M., and Chandler, J. (2004) RES Baseline e Study of Solo-Living and Longterm Illness, RES Solo-Living and Life-Course Changes Therborn, G. (2004) Between Sex and Power: Family in the World , NY: Routledge. Wasoff F., Jamieson L (2005a) Solo-living Across the Adult Lifecourse Full Research Report. ESRC End of Award Report, RES , Swindon: ESRC. Wasoff, F., Jamieson L and Smith. A. (2005b) Solo-living, Individual and Family Boundaries across the adult lifecourse in McKie, L and Cunningham-Burley, S (eds) Families and Society: Boundaries and Relationships. Bristol: Policy Press