2. A New Legal Form of “Family”: Adult Interdependent Relationships Definition of a Relnshp of Interdependence - a relationship outside marriage in which any 2 persons: a) share one another’s life b) are emotionally committed to each other c) function as an economic & domestic unit - 

3. Criteria for Determining Whether Two People Form An Economic & Domestic Unit Under Alberta’s Adult Interdependent Relationships Act Conjugality & Exclusivity: Whether the persons have a conjugal relationship & the degree of its exclusivity External Representation: Degree to which the persons represent themselves to others as a domestic & economic unit Formalization: Degree to which the persons formalize their intentions, legal obliga- tions, & responsibilities to each other Children: Care & support Property: Ownership, use, & acquisition of

4. A person is the adult interdependent partner of another person if: The person has lived with the other person in a relationship of interdependence: i) for a continuous period >3 yrs or ii) of some permanence, if there is a child of the relationship by birth or adoption OR The person has entered into an adult interdependent partner agreement with the other person.

5. Q & A on Adult Interdependent Partnerships Can a person have more than one A.I.P. at a time? No Can a married person, living with his/her spouse, have an A.I.P.? No Can a married person, separated from his/her spouse have an A.I.P.? Yes How terminate an A.I. Partnership? - Walk away for at least 1 year - Marry someone - Enter A.I.P. with someone else - Written termination agreement - by other unspecified means

6. Some Facts on Alberta Families 84% of Alta pop. lives in family Lone parent families: only 12% Marital Status: see pie graph

7. Figure 2.1: Marital Status & Living Arrangements of the Alberta Population Aged 15 & Over, 1995 ( NOTE: The following are 1995 GSS data to be up-dated with 2001 census) Married

8. Some Facts on Alberta Families 84% of Alta pop. lives in family Lone parent families: only 12% Marital Status: see pie graph Growth in common-law since ’95 Marriages far exceed divorces in any given year. Absolute number of divorces is declining. See graph 

9. Family Formation & Dissolution: Marriages and Divorces in Alberta, 1946-2001 Source: Statistics Canada CANSIM II data base. For divorces, Table 530002, Vector 119; for marriages, Table 530001, Vector 106. CANSIM is an official mark of Statistics Canada.

10. Some Facts on Alberta Families 84% of Alta pop. lives in family Lone parent families: only 12% Marital Status: see pie graph Growth in common-law since ’95 Marriages far exceed divorces in any given year. Absolute number of divorces is declining. Interprov. Comparisons: Alta. has highest crude divorce rate and one of highest crude marriage rates. 39% of Alta. marriages end before 30 th anniversary. Among provinces, only Que. & B.C. have higher divorce rate.crude divorce

11. Why does Alberta have such an high divorce rate? Students’ Hypotheses: (start here Oct. 4/02) Economy: boom & bust cycle Affordability Strains of occup’n-related absences Long hours at work: away from fam. Strain of interprov migrants having left behind soc support & soc control networks Lower age at first marriage? High female labour force participation rate

12. Why does Alberta have such an high divorce rate? Ponting’s Hypotheses: Structural & Other Strains on Marriages e.g., a) boom & bust economy ($ fights) b) high level of family violence c) high proportion of migrants leaves weaker social control by parents & siblings & perhaps less of a social support netwk Ideological Factors a) Sexism of Alberta males (see time use data) b) Individualism – high value placed on c) Personal Autonomy – high value on d) U.S. Influence: right to pursuit of happiness e) Protestant Work Ethic (sacrifice family) Facilitative Factors High female labour force participation rate (Click here) suggests that Alberta women have greater economic freedom to leave a marriage. (Click here)

13. Family Formation (cont’d.): The Baby Boom as Measured by Number of Births in Alberta, 1946-2001 Source: Statistics Canada’s CANSIM II database. Vector ________. CANSIM is an official mark of Statistics Canada. The Second ‘Boom’: Due to Echo & In-migration, NOT increased rates of fertility.

14. Figure 2.4: Crude Birth Rate for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Canada, 1921-99

15. Family Formation (cont’d.): The Baby Boom in Alberta Measured by Total Fertility Rate Note that the earlier-observed increase in number of births in 1980s is NOT due to increased fertility rates. Note that Alta. Fertility rate now below replacement.

16. Indicators (  ) & Counter-Indicators (x) of Traditionalism in the Family xDivorce Rate (high: see previous data) x Women’s Labour Force Participation (high) Click here for graph Click here for graph Same-sex Partnerships Attitudes  - Re: Importance Of Marriage: Albertans are more trad’l than Cdns x - Re: Importance of Lasting Couple Relnshp Is much more important than marriage for both Albertans & Cdns Sex-Role Stereotyping in Time Use in:  - Household Chores (both spouses employed) Yes; Alta. women spend about twice as much time on this as Alta men.  - Child Care Yes; Alta. Women spend signif. more time at this than do their partners X - On both child care and household chores, Alta employed women spend less time than do employed women in other countries.

17. Importance of Marriage and of a Lasting Relationship As a Couple (SOURCE: GSS 1995) A L B E R T A C A N A D A TotalMenWomen Total Men Women (Cell entries are percentages) Importance of Being Married “In order for YOU to be happy in life, is it very important, important, not very important or not at all important … a) To be married?” Asked of all respondents. Very Important 39 38 40 36 36 35 Important 38 39 36 35 38 33 Not Very 21 20 21 25 22 28 Not at All 3 3 3 4 4 5 Importance of Having a Lasting Relationship b) To have a lasting relationship as a couple?” Asked of all Rs. Very Important 59 59 59 58 58 59 Important 33 32 33 35 37 34 Not Very 7 8 7 6 4 7 Not at All 1 1 1 1 1 1

18. Time Use: Alta. in Comparative Perspective (Hrs/Day) Courtesy of Dr. A. Gauthier. Data shown are average hours per day, calculated over a 7 day week for married or co-habiting adults, age 18-49, with at least one child home under age 18. SurveyHOUSCCARECIVICFREEPERS N cases Employed Men CAN982.01.10.14.49.1567 ALB981.81.00.24.19.081 NET951.90.80.14.89.7247 UK951.51.00.15.49.0107 AUS921.90.80.14.79.6870 SWE912.51.00.14.19.7601 GER922.20.70.24.49.72174 OST921.50.60.14.310.31261 Employed Women CAN983.51.40.13.99.6429 ALB983.41.30.14.29.847 NET954.11.50.15.110.5241 UK953.71.90.24.49.897 US983.91.70.13.010.194 AUS94.52.20.14.59.8733 SWE914.11.70.23.910.0670 GER924.11.20.14.010.11908 OST924.61.40.03.310.4772 Non-employed women CAN985.02.90.25.110.0418 ALB984.93.40.24.99.854 NET955.31.70.35.810.7176 UK954.42.90.35.410.760 US985.02.80.05.011.129 AUS925.03.10.05.410.3625 SWE915.14.20.13.910.2225 GER925.72.70.24.810.31188 OST926.12.70.04.010.8975

19. In the previous table, Note that for both child care and household chores, employed Alberta men spend: signif. less time than employed Alberta women less time than employed Canadian men less time than their Swedish and even German counterparts

20. Indicators Satisfaction and Emotional Ties Within Families: Indicators In Conjugal Relationships - Happiness in the Relnshp - Frequency of Laughing Together with Partner Cross-Generationally - Closeness to Parents When Growing Up - Frequency of Contact with Parents In Last 12 Months

21. Familial Happiness: Indicators On the next slide, note: Degree of Self-Reported Happiness in the Relationship - Vast majority are very happy (Cda & Alta) - Alta. Women are particularly happy in their relationships - Happiness gap betw. M & W is greater in Alberta than in Cda Frequency of Laughing Together - Vast majority laugh together daily (Cda & Alta) - Albertans (esp. men) are happier than Cdns as a whole.

22. Happiness in the Conjugal Relationship, 1995 “Overall, would you say that your relationship is …?” Asked of all persons who are married (not separated), living common-law, or living in a same-sex partnership. ALBERTACANADA ALBERTA CANADA TotalMen Women Total Men Women Very Happy 76 72 80 74 75 73 Fairly Happy 22 26 18 24 24 25 Not too happy 2 1 2 2 2 3 NOTE: Alberta’s married couples (78%) are much more likely than common-law couples (63%) to report themselves to be “Very Happy”.

23. Frequency of Laughing Together With Spouse/Partner “About how often do you and your (spouse/partner) laugh together? Is it...” Asked of all persons who were asked the happiness question above. ALBERTACANADA Tot.MenWom. Tot. Men Wom. Tot.MenWom. Tot. Men Wom. Almost Every Day 87 90 84 82 84 80 Once or Twice Per Week 11 9 13 15 14 16 Less Than Once Per Week 1 1 3 1 3 4 NOTE: Common-law partners in both Alberta & Canada report a slightly greater frequency of laughing than do married couples.

24. Emotional Closeness to Parents When Growing Up To Mother No diffs. betw. Albertans & Cdns Men were slightly closer to mother than are women: 90% of men and 85% of women say they were very close to mother when growing up To Father No diffs. betw. Albertans & Cdns No diffs betw. Men and Women Less close than to mother. (87% agreed strongly that they were very close to their mother when growing up, but the corresponding figure for father was only 69%

25. Frequency of Face-to-Face Contact with Parents in Last 12 Months Slightly lower in Alta. than Cda for both mother & father e.g. About 1/3 of Albertans, but about 42 % of Cdns had daily or at least once per week contact with their father in previous 12 months Women, are slightly more likely than men to be in frequent contact with their mothers (i.e., 39% among Alta women vs 33% among Alta men)

26. Value Attached To Children: Positive and Negative Indicators Would Not Have Children If Could Live Life Over Only 3% of Albertans and 5% of Canadians agree Having Children Made Respondent an Happier Person About 40% of Albertans and slightly more Cdns strongly agree. Only about 3% of each sample disagree. Responses to Recommendations of the Alberta Children’s Advocate The government repeatedly resists attempts by the Children’s Advocate to improve the lot of children in state care.