INFORMAL UNIONS AMONG MAINLAND PUERTO-RICANS - COHABITATION OR AN ALTERNATIVE TO LEGAL MARRIAGE

This paper examines the meaning of informal unions among mainland Puerto Rican women with data from a survey of Puerto Rican women residing in New York City and its surrounding counties in 1985. The primary aims of the analysis are: (a) to compare the characteristics of women in informal unions to those of women who are single and women who are legally married; (b) to assess whether Puerto Rican women define their informal unions as nonmarital cohabitation or a form of marriage; and (c) to examine the predictors of women's definitions of informal unions. Overall, the results show that among Puerto Ricans, informal unions are more akin to marriage than single-hood.