title: Consensual partnering in Australia: a review and 1991 census profile.
abstract: "This paper is the first part of a two-part examination of consensual partnering in Australia. It reviews the Australian literature on consensual partnering, summarizing evidence of its proliferation since the mid-1960s and also the findings of investigations into its nature and the personal attributes that predispose some people more than others to adopt it. It then discusses the shortcomings of Australian census data as a source for studying consensual unions, before using data from the 1991 Census to present the first elements in a comprehensive profile of the cohabiting population. These cover the basic demography of consensual partnering: the ages, marital statuses and family type distributions of those involved."
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D001315:Australia; D019352:Censuses; D003625:Data Collection; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D005191:Family Characteristics; D017533:Marital Status; D008393:Marriage; D010139:Pacific Islands; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D012106:Research
keywords: Age Distribution; Age Factors; Australia; Census; Consensual Union--determinants; Data Collection; Data Sources; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Literature Review; Marital Status; Nuptiality; Oceania; Population; Population Characteristics; Population Statistics; Research Methodology