Sécularisation, Pratiques de Mise en Union et Stabilité des Mariages: Le Cas de l’Italie

Abstract

Descriptive statistics indicate that civil marriages and marriages preceded by premarital cohabitation are more unstable, i.e., more frequently followed by divorce. However, the literature has shown that selectivity plays an important role in the relationship between premarital cohabitation and union dissolution. We do not have evidence to date regarding the selectivity in the effect of civil marriage. The Italian case appears particularly interesting given the recent diffusion of premarital cohabitation and civil marriage. Using micro-level data from a national-level representative survey conducted in 2003, we develop a multiprocess model that allows unobserved heterogeneity to be correlated across the three decisions (premarital cohabitation, civil marriage, and divorce). Our results show that selectivity is the main factor that explains the higher divorce rates among those who experience premarital cohabitation and a civil marriage. Net of selectivity, the causal effect on union dissolution disappears.

The Effect of Union Status at First Childbirth on Union Stability: Evidence from Eastern and Western Germany

“…It was assumed that the residuals had a mean value of zero and followed a bivariate normal distribution, where and denoted the variances of the residuals and was the covariance between the residuals. In line with other studies that relied on single-spell data (Impicciatore and Billari 2012; Baizán et al 2003, 2004), the variances of the residuals were fixed to the unity (see also Rabe-Hesketh and Skrondal 2008: 110). The variance of ε was then allowed to vary in order to test the robustness of the results.…”

Divorce, Repartnering, and Stepfamilies: A Decade in Review

“…So how do we account for this association? One perspective is that people who choose to cohabit before marriage have distinctive characteristics that predispose them to divorce and that these characteristics account for their increased incidence of divorce (Impicciatore & Billari, ; Manning & Cohen, ; Smock, ). Premarital cohabitation may also increase the risk of divorce by truncating the marital search: couples may begin cohabiting without giving much consideration to long‐term compatibility and then marry out of inertia or in response to a pregnancy (Stanley, Rhoades, & Markman, ).…”

Religion and union formation in Italy: Catholic precepts, social pressure, and tradition

“…In addition, during the early 1970s the incidence of non-religious marriages (among all marriages) increased from 2% to 10%: nowadays almost 40% of marriages are celebrated with a civil ceremony. A civil marriage clearly represents a secularized choice, displayed to the outside world (Impicciatore and Billari 2012). In parallel, another tangible sign of secularization is represented by the decline in public religious practices.…”