Premium
Ambivalence and Living Apart Together in Later Life: A Critical Research Proposal
Author(s) -
Connidis Ingrid Arnet,
Borell Klas,
Karlsson Sofie Ghazanfareeon
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/jomf.12417
Subject(s) - ambivalence , life course approach , perspective (graphical) , context (archaeology) , general partnership , sociology , cohabitation , gender studies , social psychology , psychology , political science , geography , archaeology , artificial intelligence , computer science , law
Most unattached older persons who would like an intimate partnership do not want to remarry or be in a marriage‐like relationship. A growing trend is to live apart together ( LAT ) in an ongoing intimate relationship that does not include a common home. We address the debate about whether LAT constitutes a new form of intimate relationship in a critical assessment of research on LAT relationships that applies ambivalence and concepts from the life course perspective. We conclude that among older but not younger adults, LAT relationships are generally a stable alternative to living with a partner, negotiated in the context of current social institutions and arrangements. We propose research questions that address later life living apart together as an innovative alternative intimate relationship. We encourage comparative work on the unique challenges of later life living apart together, their implications for other family ties, and their connection to social and cultural arrangements.