Do same-sex unions dissolve more often than different-sex unions? Methodological insights from Colombian data on sexual behavior

Abstract

BACKGROUND Conclusions about differences in union dissolution rates between same-sex couples and different-sex couples vary across studies and countries. Previous research identifies same-sex couples solely using information on the sex of partners. OBJECTIVE To investigate how the measures used to identify same-sex couples affect conclusions regarding differences in dissolution rates between different-sex and same-sex unions in the stigmatized context of Colombia. METHODS We use rich retrospective data from the Colombian DHS 2015 on the duration of 63,462 unions, including 1,051 same-sex unions. An important feature of this survey is that respondents are also asked about their sexual behavior. RESULTS Similar to previous studies on the United States, estimates solely based on the reported sex of partners show that cohabiting same-sex couples are as likely to separate as cohabiting different-sex couples in Colombia. However, excluding same-sex unions of persons who reported never having had sex with someone of the same sex, same-sex unions are considerably more likely to end in separation than different-sex unions. CONCLUSIONS The same-sex unions of persons who report having had sex with someone of the same sex are more likely to end in separation than different-sex unions in Colombia. CONTRIBUTION We show how substantive conclusions about the relative stability of same-sex unions depend on how same-sex unions are identified. To reduce the influence of possible miscoding on conclusions we recommend combining various measures to identify samesex unions.