Family formation in Uruguay: pre-marriage cohabitation, cohabiting unions and marriage

The objective of this work is to study the factors that affect the decision to enter into cohabitation or marriage in the first union among Uruguayan women, in the framework of a significant increase in consensual unions in Uruguay during the last two decades. This work aims at contributing to a better understanding of the determining factors that underlie the choice of one or other type of union among women who enter into first unions, and in particular to understand the interaction of structural and value-related factors. For this purpose, we have analyzed the form of entry into first unions using proportional risk models and taking into consideration three groups of variables: structural, background, and variables related to values and attitudes. We expect to find differences in the choice of union type and, in particular, of the time of transitioning into marriage, based on social strata and values.