Long-Distance Relationships

Types of LDRs and Reasons for Their Occurrence

LDRs may occur between marital partners, committed nonmarital partners, the children of such partners (or ex-partners), extended family members, and friends. The number of LD marriages (or families) is unknown; outside of the military, LD families are not officially recognized.

LD marital relationships occur primarily due to educational or career pursuits, employment demands, military deployment, or incarceration. Military deployment and incarceration account for most LD romantic involvements. In 2005, approximately 60 percent of deployed military personal were married and/or had children. As of 2000, federal, state, and local prisons held approximately 2 million individuals, the majority of which had children and/or romantic partners.

A distinction is often made between dual-career, dual-residence (DCDR) LD couples and single-career, single-residence LD couples. DCDR couples live apart due to difficulty finding career opportunities in the same location. Estimates indicate that about 1 million married couples are DCDR couples. The number of academics and corporate executives in LDRs is estimated to be higher than that of the general population. An LD, yet single residence, couple or family occurs when one member of the couple (usually the male) is away for extended periods of time due to his work demands, but a separate residence is not maintained. Rather, the traveling individual generally stays in hotels, barracks, company quarters, and the like. Separations might be for routine, relatively short durations, such as weekly travel for business purposes, or for months or years, such as off-shore oil workers.

Nonmarital romantic LDRs exist and occur for the same reasons. Estimates indicate that up to 50 percent of college students will be involved in an LDR. Committed nonmarital LDRs exist beyond college students. Two, committed, career-oriented individuals may cohabitate and then become LD for career reasons.

Although most romantic partners share the expectation that they will share a residence, Irene Levine and Jan Trost have identified a couple type labeled living apart together (LATs) who are romantically involved, might be heterosexual or homosexual, might or might not be married, might or might not have children, expect a continued romantic involvement, and have no desire to share a residence or necessarily live in the same city. These individuals are sometimes apart due to the same reasons listed previously. Some such couples [Page 998]are formed later in life and desire to retain two residences in order to maintain proximity to children or grandchildren.

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