THE EFFECTS OF COHABITATION AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN KADINAMKULAM GRAM PANCHAYAT. A dissertation submitted to the University of Kerala in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK 2018-2020 Submitted by MEENU MARIYAM LAL Exam Code: 91518401 Candidate Code: 91518115015 Subject Code: SW 2.4.5 LOYOLA COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES SREEKARIYAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM- 695017, KERALA UNIVERSITY OF KERALA 1 CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL This is to certify that the work embodied in the dissertation entitled “The Effects of Cohabitation among Young Women in Kadinamkulam Gram panchayat.” has been carried out by Meenu Mariyam Lal, fourth semester student in Masters of Social Work under my supervision and guidance that is hereby approved for submission. Date: 23/09/2019 Thiruvananthapuram Fr. Sabu S J Research Guide Department of Social Work Loyola College of Social Sciences Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram Recommended for forwarding to the University of Kerala, Dr. Sonny Jose Head of the Department of Social Work Loyola College of Social Sciences Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram Recommended for forwarding to the University of Kerala, Dr. Saji P Jacob Principal Loyola College of Social Sciences Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram 2 DECLARATION I, Meenu Mariyam Lal, do hereby declare that the dissertation titled “The Effects of Cohabitation among Young Women in Kadinamkulam Gram Panchayat” is a work done by me for the award of the degree of Master of Social Work of the University of Kerala during the year 2018-2020. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the dissertation contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the dissertation itself. Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram Meenu Mariyam Lal Date: 15-5-20 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Fore mostly I extend profound thanks to Almighty God who has blessed me the opportunities and intellectual ability to complete my research successfully. I was lucky to have Fr. Sabu S J, faculty of the Social Work Department, Loyola College of Social Sciences as my guide. He was the leading spirit in my endeavour; he had motivated me at times of confusion, stood for me, and with me. At this juncture I extend my heartfelt respect and gratitude for all the pain that he had taken for the completion of my study. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Saji. P. Jacob, Principal Loyola College of Social Sciences and Dr. Sonny Jose, Head of the Social Work Department, Fr. Saji S.J, Dr. Francina P.X, Dr. Jasmine Sarah Alexander and Ms. Vandana Suresh faculty members of Department of Social Work for their help on various occasions during the course of this work. I express my sincere thanks to Dr. Sunil Kumar, Librarian and Mr. George Mathew assistant librarian, Loyola College of Social Sciences for providing necessary reference materials, and their kind support for the successful completion of my work so far. I acknowledge and appreciate the respondents the women community of Kadinamkulam coastal area and the workers and helpers of the respective ICDS centres in Thiruvananthapuram for spending their valuable time to share their experiences with me which in turn helped me to complete this study successfully. Special thanks to my friends, seniors and juniors who supported me unconditionally which made me to present this study before you. Meenu Mariyam Lal 4 CONTENTS SL. CONTENT PAGE NUMBER NO 1. INTRODUCTION 8 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 15 3. METHODOLOGY 22 4. CASE PRESENTATION 27 5. CASE ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 46 6. FINDINGS, SUGGESTION AND 57 CONCLUSION 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND APPENDIX 68 5 LIST OF TABLES Sl. No Title of Table Page Number 1 Personal Profile of the Women Undergoing 48 Cohabitation 2 Data Analysis with Themes and Sub themes 52 6 ABSTRACT The study deals with the challenges and effects of Cohabitation among the young women community of coastal regions in Kadinamkulam Panchayat of Trivandrum district. From observations and studies, the researcher is sure about the kind of live-in-relations persisting in coastal areas of Kerala. As the researcher done her concurrent fieldwork in the Kadinamkulam region, she took different cases from various family backgrounds for case study. The factors which led the women to Cohabitation, the challenges they faced and the psychological wellbeing was aimed through the study. Also, the ‘changing concept of marriages’ among the backward castes of society emerges through the study. The study also depicts the value of relationships in the current society and the children who turn out to be ‘single-parented’. The present study was conducted with the aim of understanding the psychological and social challenges of women who were into cohabitation for more than three months. This study mainly focuses on the coastal area of Perumathura in Trivandrum district. The study is descriptive in nature. The researcher used case study research design and collected data from cohabiting women. Researcher analysed the data based on different themes and has also provide the suggestions for improving their cohabiting life. The findings suggest that the women experiences problems in different dimensions mainly psychological, physical and social. The most common reason for the problems reported was illicit affairs of partner, substance abuse or lack of acceptance from the partner’s family. Key words: Cohabitation, Factors, Effects and Challenges, Psychological impact and Social Relation. 7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 8 1. Introduction Contents 1.1 Cohabitation 1.2 Young Adults 1.3 Kadinamkulam Gram panchayat 1.4 Background of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Statement of the Problem 1.7 Research questions 1.8 Conceptualisation 9 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Cohabitation Cohabitation is a living arrangement in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term relationship that resembles a marriage. It is more like the state of living together and having a sexual relationship without the ties of marriage. The premarital cohabitation effect is the finding that those who live together prior to marriage are more likely, not less, to struggle in marriage. Cohabitation without commitment may be setting the ground for an unstable marriage. According to Carsey Institute, the number of couples cohabiting has increased nationwide more than any other family form since 1995, and the number of children in cohabiting households has grown the most in rural areas. Contrary to the typical flow of social trends, which usually move from urban to rural areas, the trend toward cohabitation is more advanced in rural areas than in urban areas. It is believed that high rate of rural cohabitation lies in the greater economic pressure that rural single parents feel (CARSEY Institute,2009). According to Cherlin Andrew in his journal; The deinstitutionalization of marriage is due to the weakening of the social and legal norms that regulate peoples’ attitude towards marriages. (Journal of Marriage and Family,2004). Recent estimates show that other major social changes such as; higher divorce rate, older age at first marriage and childbearing, and more births outside marriage also came along with cohabitation. Factors such as secularization, more women in the labor force, changing perspectives of marriages, risk reduction, individualism, and changing views on sexuality have been contributing to these social changes. There has also been a change in modern sexual ethics, legalizing adultery and fornication and criminalizing marital rape, reflecting new concepts about the role and purpose of sexual interaction, and new notions on female sexuality and self-determination (Jaclyn and Jessica,2008). Cohabitation has the concept of “sliding into relationships”-where things go unplanned or just happen without any exact decisions. Many couples today slide into cohabitation without thoughtfully mapping out the future of their relationship. It is developing as a trend among the lower levels of community because of many social, economic and cultural factors. Both men and women face challenges as they became committed in earlier ages of life. The education, career and value of relationships would be affected. Also, if the relationships tend to breakup, the psychosocial wellbeing of the partners as well as of their children will also be affected. Education level was shown to affect the likelihood of cohabitation. Women with less than a high school diploma had a 76% of chance of cohabiting by age 25, whereas women with a bachelor’s degree or higher only had 36% chance of doing so. (Sliding versus Deciding in Relationships by Owen, Jesse, Galena Rhoades and Scott M. Stanley,2013) 1.2 Young Adults A young adult is generally a person ranging in age from their late teens or early twenties to their thirties, but definitions and opinions vary such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. According to Erik Erikson, the adolescent stage emphasis upon formation of one’s personal self or identity, 'the 10 young adult, emerging from the search for and insistence on identity, is anxious and willing to fuse their identity with that of others. He or she is ready to get committed with concrete affiliations and partnerships i.e. to be in intimacy. They should possess the ability to face the fear of ego loss in situations of self-abandon; in the solidarity of close affiliations, in close friendships and in physical combat. Avoidance of such experiences because of a fear of ego-loss may lead to a consequent self-absorption and deep sense of isolation. In modern societies, young adults in their late teens and early 20s encounter have umpteen problems after they finish school and begin to hold full-time jobs and take on other responsibilities of adulthood while the young adult is usually preoccupied with self-growth with respect to their relationship with the society. The danger is that in the Early Adulthood, even though, one does not have the maturity or life experience to make wise choices he or she has to make crucially important choices regarding marriage, family, work, and lifestyle.