Citation

Mitchell BA. Can. Rev. Sociol. 2001; 38(4): 391-413.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1755-618X.2001.tb00979.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

From a cross-cultural and social change perspective, this paper explicates ethnocultural differences in attitudes towards heterosexual cohabiting relationships among Canadian young adults. The focus is on uncovering the key mechanisms by which ethnic groups “reproduce” traditional or liberal value orientations towards this living arrangement. The data set used in this research is drawn from a sub-set of 1,907 randomly-selected young adults from the 1999–2000 Culture and Coresidence Study. Bivariate analyses show strong ethnocultural differences in the propensity to report that cohabitation is acceptable, with the British group the most favourable, followed by Southern Europeans, Chinese, and finally, Indo-Canadians. Results from the logistic regression analysis reveal that a constellation of ethnocultural factors contribute to these differences. These include: young adult's religiosity, familism and gender-role traditionalism, and routine use of ethnic language with peers.