1. Introduction

1. This note summarises the results of public opinion polls conducted in 1971-72, 1973, 1976 and 1977 which sought peoples’ attitudes on the issue of “unmarried couples living together”. Although there are certain problems with using public opinion polls in probing complex issues, the information from these polls provides material that is not otherwise available about changes in attitudes over this period. We also present the results of an Australia-wide survey of patterns of family formation conducted in 1981 by the Institute of Family Studies.

2. Public Opinion Polls 1971-72 to 1977: Attitudes to “Unmarried Couples Living Together”

2. Two Australian National Opinion Poll Surveys, conducted in November 1971 and March 1972, found that 36 percent of people interviewed expressed approval of “unmarried couples living together”, while 51 per cent expressed disapproval and 13 per cent were undecided.¹ Men were more likely to express approval than were women; urban dwellers were more likely to express approval than were rural dwellers; people who had no religious affiliation were more likely to express approval than were people identifying with a religious affiliation.

3. In December 1973, the Victorian newspaper, The Age reported on an Age Opinion Poll in which 2,000 people aged 18 years and over were interviewed in all States and in the Australian Capital Territory.² The poll attempted to measure peoples’ attitudes to “adult relationships outside of marriage” by presenting them with a number of hypothetical situations and asking whether they approved, accepted or disapproved of each situation. The results suggest a high level of approval or acceptance of de facto cohabitation but the level of acceptance varied according to the hypothetical situation described. Approval and acceptance were highest where a couple without dependent children (either childless or with adult children) preferred to live together, while disapproval was most common where a couple with dependent children who were able to marry chose to live together. Approval and acceptance increased where couples (with and without dependent children) lived together because they were 11 prevented for some reason from marrying” (Table 2). The results showed that the age of people interviewed had a marked effect on their attitudes. In every hypothetical situation raised by the poll the younger the person, the more likely he or she was to accept or approve adult cohabitation outside marriage.

4. In 1976, the Age reported on a poll surveying community attitudes to various social issues. The poll which was conducted with a sample of 2,000 people aged 18 years and over in all States and the Australian Capital Territory, sought respondents’ views on “unmarried couples living together”.³ Respondents were asked whether they saw “unmarried couples living together” as “right-harmless”, “wrong-dangerous” or neither of these. Overall, 42 per cent of respondents saw unmarried cohabitation as “right-harmless”; 34 per cent said that cohabitation was “wrong-dangerous”. Acceptance differed according to the sex, age and educational level of respondents. Men were slightly more likely to be accepting than women, the young were much more accepting than older respondents; and those with a longer period of education were more accepting than people who had not completed secondary school.

Table 1: Attitudes Towards "Unmarried Couples Living Together"

1971-1072

	Sex of Respondent			Place of Residence of Respondent		Religion of Respondents
	Males	Females	Persons	Urban	Rural	Catholic	Anglican	None
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Approval of "unmarried couples living together"	43	29	36	42	26	30	38	64

 

Table 2: Attitudes Towards Unmarried Cohabitation

	Attitude of Respondents
	Approve	Acept	Disapprove	Don't know	Total
The situation is:	%	%	%	%	%
A childless couple, able to marry but preferring to live together without marriage	24	31	44	1	100
A childless couple, prevented for some reason from marrying, living together	31	39	28	2	100
A couple with dependent children, able to marry, but preferring to live together with the children without marriage	11	21	66	2	100
A couple with dependent children, prevented from marrying, living together with the children	24	41	32	3	100
A couple with grown-up children, able to marry, but preferring to live together without marriage	21	32	45	2	100
A couple with grown-up children, prevented for some reason from marrying, living together without marriage	27	40	30	2	99

 

5. Despite the clear moral implications in the wording of the question in the 1976 Age Poll (by reference to notions of “harm” and “danger”) the proportion of respondents expressing acceptance of cohabitation had increased since the poll of 1971/72, from 36 percent to 42 per cent.

6. An Australian Public Opinion Poll conducted in 1977 asked respondents their attitudes to “unmarried couples living together”.⁴ Overall, 52 per cent of respondents indicated approval, while a further 9 per cent indicated that “it’s up to [the] couples”. There was virtually no difference between men’s and women’s responses. The age of respondents, however, was significant the younger the person the more likely he or she was to express approval 75 per cent of respondents under 30 years indicated approval and a further 6 per cent said that the issue was “up to couples”. Of people aged 30 to 49, 52 per cent indicated approval and a further 11 per cent were neutral-while of people 50 years and over, 28 per cent were approving and a further 10 per cent were neutral.

3. Conclusions from Public Opinion Polls: 1971-72 to 1977

7. There are problems connected with the use of public opinion polls to measure community attitudes on personal issues. The actual answers given by respondents may be affected greatly by the wording of questions and by the range of alternative answers which are provided. In analysing the trend of opinion polls on de facto cohabitation in the period 1971/72 to 1977, the different wording of the questions in different polls presents some problems, but it is still possible to observe certain clear trends. The rate of disapproval of unmarried cohabitation provides a useful indication of changing attitudes in this period.

• In the 1971/72 poll 51 per cent of persons interviewed indicated disapproval of “unmarried couples living together”.
• In the 1976 poll when the answers provided went beyond “disapprove”, 34 per cent of persons indicated that they considered “unmarried couples living together” to be “wrong/dangerous”.
• In the 1977 poll when the possible answers allowed for a category of unconcern (“it’s up to couples”), 35 per cent of persons indicated disapproval.

The polls provide strong evidence that disapproval of de facto cohabitation as measured by opinion polls, has decreased in the period 1971/72 to 1977. Expressions of approval have increased for both men and women, but markedly so for women: 29 per cent “approved” in the 1971/72 poll compared with 50 per cent in the 1977 poll In the latter poll almost no difference was discernible in men’s and women’s attitudes on this issue. The age factor remained significant. In the 1977 poll a very small proportion (16 percent) of people under 30 expressed disapproval of unmarried couples living together, but one-third of people aged 30 to 49 expressed disapproval

Table 3: Attitudes Towards "Unmarried Couples Living Together"

1976

	Sex of Respondents			Age of Respondents		Education of Respondent
	Males	Females	Persons	21-24 Years	Aged 60 +	University Educated	Primary Educated
	N = 998	N = 1002	N = 2000	N = 180	N = 368	N = 184	N = 243
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Right - harmless	46	38	42	69	23	69	22
Wrong - dangerous	32	37	34	12	57	19	54
Neither - don't know	23	25	24	18	21	12	24
Total	101	100	100	99	101	100	100

 

Table 4: Attitudes Towards " Unmarried Couples Living Together"

1977

	Sex of Respondents			Age of Respondents
	Males	Females	Total	16-29 Years	30-49 Years	50 + Years
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Approve	54	50	52	75	52	28
Don't care: it's up to couples	8	10	9	6	11	10
Undecided	4	4	4	3	4	4
Disapprove	34	36	35	16	33	58
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100

 

4. The Family Formation Project: 1981. Attitudes to Unmarried Cohabitation

The Family Formation Project conducted by the institute of Family Studies in 1981 included a comprehensive set of questions about attitudes towards issues relating to marriage and de facto cohabitation.⁵ The sample consisted of 2,548 persons (1,122 men and 1,426 women) aged between 18 and 34 years, living in households in private dwellings in major cities, smaller urban areas, and rural localities throughout Australia. Several questions in the survey related to different aspects of community attitudes to de facto cohabitation Responses to the statement “It’s alright for a couple to live together without planning to get married” show a high level of agreement 78 per cent of respondents indicated their agreement (including 12 per cent who expressed “strong agreement”) (Table 5). 44 per cent of respondents agreed that “if you live together there is a lot of social disapproval” (Table 6), in comparison with the 22 per cent who indicated their own personal disapproval. It would appear that a large majority (78 per cent) of relatively young people (aged 18 to 34 years) personally approve of de facto cohabitation but a smaller majority (55 per cent) consider that cohabitation is free from “social disapproval”.

9. Unmarried cohabitation has sometimes been characterised as “trial marriage”, prior either to a first marriage or to remarriage.⁶ On this analysis, cohabitation is seen not as a long term alternative domestic relationship, but as a form of courtship behaviour, leading very often but not always, to formal marriage.⁷ Respondents to the survey were presented with the statement: “It is good to have a trial marriage” - a statement which connotes not merely acceptance but positive approval of cohabitation as a trial period before marriage. 56 percent agreed with this proposition (Table 7).

Table 5: Attitudes Towards "It's Alright for a Couple to Live Together Without Planning to get Married"

1981

	Males	Females	Total
	N = 1122	N = 1426	N = 2548
	%	%	%
Strongly agree	13	11	12
Agree	67	64	66
Don't know	1	1	1
Disagree	15	20	18
Strongly disagree	5	4	4
Total	101	100	101

 

Table 5: Attitudes Towards "If you Live Together There is a Lot of Social Disapproval"

1981

	Males	Females	Total
	N = 1122	N = 1426	N = 2548
	%	%	%
Strongly agree	5	5	5
Agree	35	40	38
Don't know	2	1	2
Disagree	54	49	51
Strongly disagree	5	4	4
Total	101	100	101

 

Table 7: Attitudes Towards "It is Good to Have a Trial Marriage"

1981

	Males	Females	Total
	N = 1122	N = 1426	N = 2548
	%	%	%
Strongly agree	12	9	10
Agree	47	45	46
Don't know	2	3	3
Disagree	31	34	33
Strongly disagree	8	10	9
Total	100	101	101

 

10. The survey indicated that men and women differ very slightly in their attitudes to cohabitation and the differences are consistent A slightly higher proportion of men agreed that “it’s alright for a couple to live together without planning to get married” (80 per cent of men and 75 per cent of women). A slightly higher proportion of men agreed that “it is good to have a trial marriage” (59 per cent of men and 54 per cent of women) and a slightly higher proportion of men disagreed with the proposition that living together incurred “a lot of social disapproval” (59 per cent of men and 53 per cent of women). A comparison of these results with the results of the opinion polls described earlier suggests that in younger age groups there has been increasing acceptance of de facto cohabitation by both men and women. This confirms the trend discernible from the opinion polls themselves.

5. Conclusions

11. Information from public opinion polls conducted in 1971-72 and in 1977 shows a marked decrease in disapproval of “unmarried couples living together”. 51 per cent of persons surveyed in 1971-72 expressed disapproval compared with 35 per cent in 1977. In both polls, the sample included persons in all age groups. The Family Formation Project conducted in 1981 found that only 22 per cent of persons aged 18 to 34 years disagreed with the statement that “it is alright for a couple to live together without planning to get married”. This 1981 figure is very similar to the finding that only 16 per cent of persons under 30 years and 33 per cent of persons between the ages 30 to 49 expressed disapproval of cohabitation in the 1977 poll It is valid to conclude that in the decade 1971-72 to 1981 there has been a clear trend towards increasing acceptance of de facto cohabitation that men’s and women’s attitudes have become increasingly similar, and that younger age groups show the highest level of acceptance.

12. We know that in the period when these changes in attitude were occurring, the numbers of people living together in de facto relationships increased from 34,166 persons in 1971 to 131,876 persons in 1976 and to 337,316 persons in 1982.⁸ This represents an almost ten-fold increase. We can conclude that the increases in the numbers of people living together without marriage (or at least their increased willingness to indicate this to official statisticians and the increased interest of statisticians in documenting this pattern of domestic life) has been accompanied by an increased community acceptance of de facto cohabitation.

1. Australian National Opinion Poll Newsletter, March 1972.

2. The Age, Monday, December 31, 1973.

3. The Age, November 11, 1976.

4. Hobart Mercury, March 12, 1977.

5. Unpublished Tables supplied to the NSW Law Reform Commission by Dr Don Edgar, Director, Institute of Family Studies.

6. National Population Inquiry, Supplementary Report: Population and Australia, Recent Demographic Trends and Their Implications (1978), Chapter 2.

7. P Laslett, “Introduction, comparing illegitimacy over time and between cultures” in P Laslett, K Ooesterveen and R M Smith (eds.), Bastardy and its Comparative History (London, 1980), pp.1-65.

8. See Chapter 3 above.