Meanings and attitudes attached to cohabitation in Poland: Quantitative analyses of the slow diffusion of cohabitation among the young generation

Résumé du document

The text we have is an article written a few years ago by Monika Mynarska and Laura Bernardi. This article is about cohabiting behaviors in Poland, especially its diffusion among the young generation, in terms of attitudes (what people think about it) and behaviors (what they do). Frist, the authors speak about the general trend in Europe which is an increase in the number of people entering cohabitations at early ages and among them, an increase in the number of people remaining unmarried. Then, they focus on the Polish situation which is characterizes by one of the lowest levels of cohabitation within Europe.

In general, in this country, people who want to live together also want to marry. After introducing the topic, the authors highlight a few important features of this country which remains an exception in terms of cohabitation. The Poles who cohabitate are often people who have often suffered from a relatively ‘negative societal image'. For instance, they can be considered as minorities because of poor economic and social living conditions or lower levels of qualification. It can also be the case for people who went through difficult times (divorce, death of the partner…). Cohabitation is not really spread among young people and more among adults who have already children. Paradoxically, even if they do not cohabitate so much, young people are more liberal towards cohabitation and they more often approve this way of living than old people.

What the authors want to understand in this article is the reason for such gap between the attitudes and the behaviors of young people in Poland. In their opinion, it has to do with the meaning of cohabitation and marriage in the polish society. In fact, cohabitation is often seen as the best alternative to marriage (because of values, economic conditions, previous experiences), but it has little approval in general.

Extraits

[...] The gap between attitudes and behaviours among young people in Poland is well explained: different factors have to be taken into account. The changes of attitudes will probably lead to changes in behaviours in a few years. It would be interesting to follow the evolution of cohabitation among the young generation in Poland. References Mynaska. M. And L. Bernardi (2007): Meanings and attitudes attached to cohabitation in Poland: Qualitative analyses of the slow diffusion of cohabitation among the young generation. [...]

[...] Cohabitation is not seen as something sustainable, but more provisional, in Poland. If people do not marry in the end, it is considered as dead end'. What is interesting in the conclusion is the way the authors relativize the position of Poland and explain there is no universal reason for being married. For instance, in Sweden, the marriage is seen as a social sign of commitment whereas in Poland, the decision is more personal. In this country, the role played by the Catholic Church remains very important. [...]

[...] Meanings and attitudes attached to cohabitation in Poland: Quantitative analysis of the slow diffusion of cohabitation among the young generation The text we have is an article written a few years ago by Monika Mynarska and Laura Bernardi. This article is about cohabiting behaviours in Poland, especially its diffusion among the young generation, in terms of attitudes (what people think about it) and behaviours (what they do). Frist, the authors speak about the general trend in Europe which is an increase in the number of people entering cohabitations at early ages and among them, an increase in the number of people remaining unmarried. [...]

[...] People want above all their self- achievement and their independence so the quality of the relationship becomes less important than higher individual expectations. Then, the desire of a formal marital commitment is reduced because cohabiting combines the advantages of being singles and those of being in a loving relationship. Likewise, in the context of secularisation, people cohabiting are not victim of social sanctioning anymore. Poland would probably between the first stage of the diffusion (for most people) and the second one characterized by higher cohabitation, especially for testing periods. This is a consequence of the higher approval of cohabitation among young people. [...]

[...] Cohabitation is spread when people assess there are more advantages than disadvantages. They argue they are two meanings associated with cohabitation. It can first be seen as a natural step in relationship development. Secondly, cohabitation may be seen as a testing period for marriage (temporary arrangement). Cohabitation is not seen as an equivalent alternative to marriage by the respondents. When we ask them what cohabitation mean, it is mainly seen as either a testing period or a step before marriage. There are different attitudes towards cohabitation. [...]