Partnership stabilization in European and East Asian contexts: Increasing pre-marital cohabitation rates and the case of rural-urban migrants Barbara E. Fulda 13 th July 2016

Research Interest Countries are at different stages of acceptance, adoption, and interpretation of pre-marital cohabitation Pre-marital cohabitation is A recent social phenomenon in China Widely practiced in many European countries – to different degrees Research Interest Group of cohabiters before first marriage China: Why do individuals cohabit before they get married? Germany: Why do cohabiting couples still get married? Extra: Does increasing intra-national migration relate to increasing rates of pre-marital cohabitation?

Data and method CountryData SetsDetails DE Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam) Age 15-35, Birth Cohorts: , , waves (2008/ /14), annually N= (1.105 individuals cohabited) CNChinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) Age: 15-35, Birth Cohorts: waves (2010, 2012), biennially N= (1.338 individuals cohabited) Sample: Married individuals (1 st marriage) who cohabited or did not cohabit with their spouse Method: Logistic regression DV: Cohabited prior to first marriage (1) vs. direct marriage (0)

Descriptives ChinaGermany MalesFemalesMalesFemales Cohabited prior to first marriage Urban living Tertiary education5545 Father tertiary educational level Percentages (rounded), 15 to 35 year olds, Sources: CFPS 2010; pairfam waves 1-6, sampling weights

Rural-urban migration in China A driver of increasing premarital cohabitation? Among 120 million intra-national migrants, 40% are aged between (Hong et al. 2006) 5.44 % of all men and 7.46 % of all women in the sample moved from a rural to an urban region (CFPS 2010, Age: 15-35) Rural-urban migration is expected to increase Pre-marital cohabitation among migrants is very common (Hong et al. 2006) Definition Migrant: Agricultural hukou status, but living in urban region at time of interview

Rural-urban migration in Germany Unique in its extent within Europe Difficult economic situation in East-Germany, especially in rural regions Highly-educated East-German women from rural areas move to West-German cities Leaving behind men with low educational levels Definition migrant: Born in East Germany but living in West Germany at time of last interview (wave 6) East-German migrants -> 17% of sample

Migrants vs. Non-Migrants in China: Descriptives MigrantNon-Migrant Cohabited30.65 %23.48 % Age at first marriage (mean) Tertiary education (attained)5.65 %14.76 % Father secondary education40.38 %43.69% Annual income (% in 4th quantile)25.51%21.52% Male39.49%42.15% Percentages (rounded), 15 to 35 year olds, Source: CFPS 2010

Migrants vs. Non-Migrants in Germany: Descriptives MigrantNon-Migrant Cohabited50%44% Age at first marriage27 Tertiary education (attained)41%45% Father secondary education64%62% Annual income (% in 4th quantile)18%24% Male38%39% Percentages (rounded), 15 to 35 year olds, Source: pairfam waves 1 -6

Results and Hypotheses China HypothesesResults Germany HypothesesResults Men++ Men*Education+ Education+++ Father‘s educational level Secondary education Tertiary education Ethnicity---- Urban context++++ Age---- Migrant++

Discussion Why migrant status not significant? Other factors matter Living in an urban context, (father‘s) educational level Small sample size of migrant groups Significance of study Parallels between intra-national migration and cohabitation behavior in both countries

Thank you! Any comments or questions?

Case Selection: Institutional Features ChinaGermany Patrilineal kinship systemBi-lineal kinship system Filial pietyIndividual decisions on intimate relationships Marriage is nearly universalMajority of the population gets married

Literature Hong, Y., Stanton, B., Li, X., Yang, H., Lin, D., Fang, X., Wang, Jing and Mao, R. (2006). Rural-to- urban migrants and the HIV epidemic in China. AIDS and Behavior, 10(4), 421–430. Leibert, Tim (2016) She leaves, he stays? Sex-selective migration in rural East Germany. Journal of Rural Studies, 43, Zhang, K., Li, D., Li, H., & Beck, E. J. (1999). Changing sexual attitudes and behaviour in China: implications for the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. AIDS Care, 11(5), 581– 9.

Prevalence of pre-marital cohabitation in Germany