From Motivations to Accounts: An Interpretive Analysis of “Living Apart Together” Relationships in Mid- to Later-Life Couples

Living Apart Together (LAT) relationships involve two people in a long-term, committed intimate relationship who choose to live in separate households. We present findings from one of the first Canadian studies of this phenomenon, also distinct in its use of an interpretive approach to the phenomeno...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family issues 2016-06, Vol.37 (8), p.1101-1122
Main Authors: Funk, Laura M., Kobayashi, Karen M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cohabitation
Couples
Gender equity
Households
Independence
Inequality
Personal relationships
Risk
Risk assessment
Sexes
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Summary:Living Apart Together (LAT) relationships involve two people in a long-term, committed intimate relationship who choose to live in separate households. We present findings from one of the first Canadian studies of this phenomenon, also distinct in its use of an interpretive approach to the phenomenon. Fifty-six mid- to late-life participants (28 couples) were interviewed in-person; data were analyzed through the lens of interpretive inquiry. LAT relationships were constructed by participants as protecting personal independence while mitigating relationship risks associated with cohabitation. Participants further justified their arrangements by drawing on ideas about age and/or gender. Though LAT arrangements may help enact the empowering potential of Giddens’ “pure relationship,” they can represent individual-level solutions to broader gendered inequities in cohabiting relationships.
ISSN:0192-513X
1552-5481
DOI:10.1177/0192513X14529432