The Diffusion of Cohabitation Among Young Women in Europe

In my doctoral project it is argued that, beside the role of institutional contexts, social influence is crucial to explain the differences in the rapid and uneven rise in cohabitation through Europe in the last decades. The social influence focussed here upon is linked to the changing level of ongoing practice in each country through time. Two contextual mechanisms that are likely to convey the diffusion of cohabitation are discussed. Their influence is tested through the use of exponential rate models with time varying covariates, with controls for known individual-level risk factors. Six countries are chosen for their differences along institutional contexts, timing and speed in cohabitation rise. National data from FFS retrospective surveys are used. Preliminary results show that the diffusion process considerably affect the likelihood of cohabiting, which is mainly driven by peer-groups influences. No insights for interegenerational mechanisms are found. The core finding is that cohabitation is indeed ‘contagious’ and that the shape of this influence varies across countries reflecting their institutional contexts. 1 Family and Fertility Surveys.