Volume 44 - Article 48 | Pages 1149–1164  

Do same-sex unions dissolve more often than different-sex unions? Methodological insights from Colombian data on sexual behavior

By Fernando Ruiz Vallejo, Diederik Boertien

Abstract

Background: Conclusions about differences in union dissolution rates between same-sex couples and different-sex couples vary across studies and countries. Previous research identifies same-sex couples solely using information on the sex of partners.

Objective: To investigate how the measures used to identify same-sex couples affect conclusions regarding differences in dissolution rates between different-sex and same-sex unions in the stigmatized context of Colombia.

Methods: We use rich retrospective data from the Colombian DHS 2015 on the duration of 63,462 unions, including 1,051 same-sex unions. An important feature of this survey is that respondents are also asked about their sexual behavior.

Results: Similar to previous studies on the United States, estimates solely based on the reported sex of partners show that cohabiting same-sex couples are as likely to separate as cohabiting different-sex couples in Colombia. However, excluding same-sex unions of persons who reported never having had sex with someone of the same sex, same-sex unions are considerably more likely to end in separation than different-sex unions.

Conclusions: The same-sex unions of persons who report having had sex with someone of the same sex are more likely to end in separation than different-sex unions in Colombia.

Contribution: We show how substantive conclusions about the relative stability of same-sex unions depend on how same-sex unions are identified. To reduce the influence of possible miscoding on conclusions we recommend combining various measures to identify same-sex unions.

Author's Affiliation

• Fernando Ruiz Vallejo - Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia EMAIL
• Diederik Boertien - Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED), Spain EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Lowest low fertility in Spain: Insights from the 2018 Spanish Fertility Survey
Volume 51 - Article 19

Pathways and obstacles to parenthood among women in same-sex couples in Spain
Volume 50 - Article 35

Why does women’s education stabilize marriages? The role of marital attraction and barriers to divorce
Volume 38 - Article 41

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

Decriminalization of adultery likely changed women’s views on divorce following spousal infidelity in South Korea
Volume 52 - Article 4    | Keywords: adultery law, divorce, Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women’s Families, marriage law, South Korea

Studying individuals in same-sex couples using longitudinal administrative data from Canadian tax records: Opportunities and challenges
Volume 52 - Article 2    | Keywords: administrative data, Canada, Longitudinal Administrative Databank, same-sex couples, sexual orientation, sexual orientation earnings gap, tax data

KINMATRIX: A new data resource for studies of families and kinship
Volume 51 - Article 25    | Keywords: family, networks, solidarity, survey methodology, transmission

Between money and intimacy: Brideprice, marriage, and women’s position in contemporary China
Volume 50 - Article 46    | Keywords: brideprice, China, divorce, family, family law, gender inequalities, marriage

Pathways and obstacles to parenthood among women in same-sex couples in Spain
Volume 50 - Article 35    | Keywords: assisted reproduction, family, fertility desires, LGBTQ, parenthood, same-sex couples