Căsătorie versus coabitare. O analiză comparativă Marriage and cohabitation. A comparative analysis Section Articles

Abstract

The majority of researchers, regardless of their preoccupations and interests, accept the fact that during the last decades of the 20th century the family has modified not only its form and content, but also the significance related to the social changes supported by the contemporary societies, especially the western ones. Thus, nowadays the term covers a varied reality, transgressing the traditional features. In the recent decades, the alternative styles to the family life have been more and more discussed, starting with the celibacy and ending with the consensual union. The present article proposes a comparative analysis regarding concubinage by comparison with marriage, cohabitation being seen as an alternative to marriage or as the final phase of engagement. An objective approach of the cohabitation phenomenon proves the existence of clear differences among the couples that live together without having solid plans to legalize their relationship and those that intend to legalize their relationship through marriage. The study focuses on this distinction by relating to common elements with marriage as the existence of sexual life and living together in a common space.