Young adults living in cohabitation and marriage. Some empirical insights of a comparative study between Portugal and Spain

The purpose of this paper is to examine the incidence of co-residential unions (cohabitations and marriages) and to compare the socio-demographic profile of unmarried and married couples in Portugal and Spain. The analysis of the actual partnership behavior compares the factors that affect the likelihood of being in a cohabiting relationship relative to being in a marital relationship of young adults at the time of the survey. The factors that shape current partnership formation patterns are examined with logistic regression models applied separately for each country, considering relevant individual, parents and partner characteristics in the analysis. Data for both countries is drawn from the European Social Survey conducted in 2008 by the Center for Comparative Social Surveys.