Abstract # 1

Blossfeld, Hans-Peter. (1999). Why do cohabiting couples marry? An example of a causal event history approach to inter-dependent systems (together with Erik Klijzing, Katharina Pohl, and Götz Rohwer). In: Quality and Quantity 33(3): 229-242.

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate a causal approach to interdependent systems based on two empirical investigations. These examples show (1) the study of two highly interdependent processes: entry into first marriage as the dependent process and the process of first birth/first pregnancy as the explaining one; (2) an interdependence occurring mainly in a very specific phase of individuals’ lives (i.e. during the period of first family formation); (3) the involvement of time lags between cause and its effect (e.g. time until detection of conception); and (4) the highly dynamic character of an unfolding effect over time (i.e. the effect of first pregnancy/first birth on first marriage strongly depends on the progress of pregnancy and the time since the birth has taken place).