Modern Cohabitation in Denmark

Lisbeth Trille G. Loft, University of Copenhagen

Since the 1960s cohabitation has emerged as one of the most radical demographic changes in the Western world in general, and in Denmark in particular. Today the majority of Danes experience cohabitation. Analyses of cohabitation tend to look at young adulthood, to assess general differences in cross-country or inter-cohort perspectives, or to test only few essential factors associated with the experience of cohabitation. Using life histories on 1058 men and 1152 women from the Danish Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study simultaneously analyze the impact of socio-economic background, social circumstances, and personal aspirations that commentators today view as propelling unmarried cohabitation. Results support that in the Danish context modern cohabitation developed concurrently from two opposite origins, namely the urban elite and the rural working class. In addition, findings show distinct gendered patterns with regard to how childhood circumstances, family formation attitudes, and personal values affect the likelihood of experiencing cohabitation.