Chisinau Youth on the Path from Romantic Relationships to Marriage

The article presents the results of a study of the cohabitation prevalence without marriage registration among young people, as well as factors affecting their formation. As an empirical base, we use data from a survey of the young aged 18 to 35 who have never been married, conducted by the Center for Demographic Research in 2019 in the capital of Moldova, Chisinau (N = 506). The results of the study showed a relatively high level of orientation of young people towards marriage along with widespread practice of living together with an intimate partner. With increasing age, the proportion of respondents planning to marry in the next three years is growing, especially among those who lived together with a partner at the time of the survey. The childbirth is associated mainly with marriage, and not with a partnership. The desire to have a long-term and stable relationship determines equating partnerships and marriage. The focus on completing education before marriage and material difficulties are identified as the main impediments for marriage.