title: [Informal unions in sub-Saharan Africa:  the example of the Congolese "second office"].
abstract: The author analyzes an informal type of marital union known as the "second office", which is prevalent in countries such as the Congo, the Ivory Coast, and Zaire.  "He points out...aspects of the phenomenon which pertain to tradition (polygamy) as well as to sociological aspects linked to modern lifestyles (affectivity in interpersonal relationships, preeminence of the father over the uncle in matrilineal kinship systems), to the urban way of life (greater feminine independence) and to essentially monetary economic relationships.  The survey method was based on 'focus groups'." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND ITA)
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000352:Africa, Northern; D000354:Africa, Western; D001519:Behavior; D003223:Congo; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D003710:Demography; D003906:Developing Countries; D004467:Economics; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D017144:Focus Groups; D005843:Geography; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008019:Life Style; D008393:Marriage; D011153:Population; D012919:Social Behavior; D012922:Social Change; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014507:Urbanization; D014933:Women's Rights
keywords: Africa; Africa South Of The Sahara; Behavior; Congo; Consensual Union; Developing Countries; Economic Factors; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Family Relationships; Focus Groups; French Speaking Africa; Geographic Factors; Interpersonal Relations; Ivory Coast; Life Style; Marriage; Marriage Patterns; Microeconomic Factors; Middle Africa; Nuptiality; Polygamy; Population; Social Behavior; Social Change; Socioeconomic Factors; Spatial Distribution; Urban Spatial Distribution; Urbanization; Western Africa; Women's Status; Zaire
vernacular_title: Les unions informelles en Afrique au sud du Sahara:  l'exemple du deuxieme bureau congolais.