We trace the shifts in household formation patterns of young women in 13
Latin American countries since the late 1960s, using data from censuses conducted
between 1970 and 2007. Not only has there been a major increase in
cohabitation as a form of union formation (e.g., Esteve, Lesthaeghe, and LopezGay
2012), there has also been a rise in the proportions of young single mothers
(e.g., Castro-Martin and Puga 2008; Castro-Martin, Martin-Garcia, Cortina
and Pardo 2011). The question has also been raised (Esteve, Lesthaeghe, and
Lopez-Gay 2012, p. 76) to what extent these features are occurring in a context
of neolocal residence and nuclear families, which would be consistent with the
notion of a second demographic transition (Lesthaeghe 2010), or continue to
be located in three-generation families or other forms of extended households.
Depending on these outcomes, the meaning of cohabitation and the degree of
precariousness of single motherhood could be quite different.