The Meaning of Marriage for Childbearing when Cohabitation is Widespread

Children that are born throughout Europe and other industrialised countries are increasingly likely to have parents that are cohabiting without being married. The increase in childbearing in cohabitation raises the question of the role of marriage in the childbearing process. When marriage is no longer the conventional form of union formation based on social norms and values people may be marrying for other reasons. Thus, marriage may mark a new stage in couples’ relationships and may symbolize a distinction from cohabitation. The aim of this paper is to examine the meaning of marriage in the childbearing process in Norway. Cohabitation is widespread in Norway and is therefore an interesting case. Norway is a country where cohabitation is highly accepted and it has become a social norm that co-residential unions starts as cohabitation. Using focus group research, we identify norms or ideas about marriage and childbearing and we ask whether marriage has been is primarily a union of choice and more easily understood as individualized behaviour.