living apart together relationships

• LEVIN - living apart together


  individuals are in a long term committed, intimate relationships, define themselves as a couple and are seen as such by others but dont share a common home and choose to live in separate households
• DUNCAN AND PHILLIPS - lats


  LATs are increasingly understood and accepted by the wider public as an alternative to marriage and cohabitation
• LATs stats


  HASKEY - 2 million couples in LATs 2002-2003, which accounts for 30% of all men and women aged 16-59 who arent cohabitating/married

  2/3rds of LATs live within 10 miles of each other = shows its by choice not force

  recently declined due to cost of living crisis meaning more people are moving in together and live in larger households due to heating costs
• divorce and separation rates and increase in LATs (levin)


  divorce and separation rates increased and LAT's have become more common and socially acceptable ways of dealing with fall outs of broken relationships
• growing individualisation and increase in LATS (LEVIN)


  growing individualisation and choice in relationships, paired with people living longer and healthier lives, people may be more prone to seeking out new partners
• modern technology and increase in LATS


  modern technology means close contact can be maintained through 'apartners' via video calls, mobiles and faster travel

  internet can alse create LATs as people may form virtual relationships which may turn into long distance LATs
• LEVIN - 3 reasons why people choose LATS over marriage


  responsibility and care

  • couple have existing responsibilities for other people and they don't want a new relationship to get in the way or threaten existing relationships

  practical reasons

  • apartners working or studying in different places, and LATS avoid conflict for them in terms of finding new jobs and costs of housing. older people may fear losing memories attached to their former homes

  risk

  • apartners dont want to repeat same mistake twice and avoid conditions that led to previous breakdown of marriage / cohabitation
• FUNK AND KOBAYASHI - LATS and risk


  mid to later life couples, LAT's seen as means for apartners to protect personal independence, personal space, routines, habits and independent identity

  LATs enabled partners to pursue their own interests, while reducing 'sacrifices' involved with living with a partner, or risks associated with marriage or cohabitation

  unburdened by structural commitments such as sharing resources that make ending and getting out marriage hard and traumatic
• LATS and giddens


  LATs rooted in mutual satisfaction and exchanges of emotional support, and conformed to GIDDENS' idea of pure relationships
• functionalists and LATS


  nuclear family is the best type of family os personality stabilisation requires 2 adults living together

  social stability would suffer
• feminists and LATS


  make women's lives more equal as she would only have to do the domestic labour for herself, rather than 2 people
• new right and LATS

  encourages single parent families that would take advantage of welfare benefits system