The question of what factors contribute to the stability of coresidential partnerships has attracted the attention of many social scientists. This study summarizes recent research on the determinants of union dissolution within a set of substantive themes. Special emphasis is placed on the past...

Economic and sociological theories of marriage have long emphasized the impact of women’s education and employment on union formation. In this study, we explore the relevance of the female economic independence hypothesis to explain women’s patterns of entry into marriage and...

A number of studies show that premarital cohabitation is associated with an increased risk of subsequent marital dissolution. Some argue that this is a consequence of selection effects and that once these are controlled for premarital cohabitation has no effect on dissolution. We examine the...

This study examines the union and conception histories of Brazilian women aged 15-49 using the 1996 Demographic and Health Survey’s calendar data. The aim of the paper is twofold: firstly to explore the use of union histories in the DHS calendar data, which have not yet been used for...

In this paper we investigate the interrelationships between fertility decisions and union dissolution in Italy and Spain. We argue that there might exist a spurious relationship between these two life trajectories. The analysis is based on the 1996 Fertility and Family Survey data for Italy and...