Children and the Stability of Cohabiting Couples

Theory and empirical evidence generally credit children with creating stability in their parents’ marriages, but whether children have a similar effect on cohabiting unions has not been previously investigated in the United States. This article uses the National Survey of Family Growth (N = 2,716) to evaluate the effects of children on the stability of couples who cohabit. The article distinguishes between conceptions and births because the two have different implications for union stability. The results indicate that children conceived during cohabitation are associated with greater stability of their parents’ relationship, particularly for Whites and Latinos, whereas children conceived and born during cohabitation are not. In addition, the effect of children on couple stability depends on whether the couple is cohabiting or has transitioned into marriage.     

Married and Cohabiting Parents’ Relationship Stability: A Focus on Race and Ethnicity

We draw on three waves of the Fragile Families Study (N =2,249) to examine family stability among a recent birth cohort of children. We find that children born to cohabiting versus married parents have over five times the risk of experiencing their parents’ separation. This difference in union stability is greatest for White children, as compared with Black or Mexican American children. For White children, differences in parents’ education levels, paternal substance abuse, and prior marriage and children account for the higher instability faced by those born to cohabiting parents, whereas differences in union stability are not fully explained among Black and Mexican American children. These findings have implications for policies aimed at promoting family stability and reducing inequality.     

Stability and Change in the Division of Labor among Cohabiting Couples

Because cohabitors express preferences for egalitarian relationships, it is generally presumed (by researchers and the popular press) that cohabiting couples engage in fairly equitable exchanges of domestic and paid work. This article explores how some cohabiting couples “do gender” through the division of labor—both paid and domestic work. Data are from in‐depth interviews with both partners from 30 cohabiting couples (N = 60) who have moderate levels of education. Few of these couples began their relationships sharing both paid work and domestic labor equally. Furthermore, the number of couples engaged in equal exchanges declined over time, while those relying on conventional exchanges grew. The devalued nature of domestic work, the persistence of gender privilege, and the “stalled” revolution are evident in how these working‐class cohabiting couples arrange their divisions of labor, reasons for changes, and why women are less able than men to opt out of housework.     

Sexual Frequency and the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions

Prior research found that lower sexual frequency and satisfaction were associated with higher rates of divorce, but little research had examined the role of sexual activity in the dissolution of cohabiting unions. We drew upon social exchange theory to hypothesize why sexual frequency is more important in cohabitation: (a) cohabitors' lower costs of finding sexual alternatives, (b) cohabitors' lower barriers to ending the relationship in the form of union‐specific economic and noneconomic capital, and (c) cohabitors' higher expectations for sexual activity. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 5,902), we examined the relationship between sexual frequency and union dissolution. Results indicated that low sexual frequency was associated with significantly higher rates of union dissolution among cohabitors than married couples.     

Assortative Mating Among Dutch Married and Cohabiting Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Couples

The authors compared male and female same‐sex and different‐sex couples in the Netherlands with respect to age and educational homogamy. Because many same‐sex couples in the Netherlands are married, differences between married and cohabiting couples were analyzed for all 3 groups. Analyses of data from the Dutch Labor Force Surveys 2001–2007 (N = 184,999 couples) showed that male same‐sex couples are less homogamous in terms of age and education than different‐sex couples. Female same‐sex couples are less homogamous in terms of age, but not in terms of education. No meaningful differences were found between married couples and cohabiting couples. Partnership status appeared less important than the sex composition of the couple. Given the relatively tolerant climate toward homosexuals in the Netherlands, the similarity of the results with those yielded by studies conducted in the United States may be considered striking.     

Cohabiting and Married Individuals' Relations With Their Partner's Parents

Using Norwegian survey data on partnered individuals ages 18 to 55 (N = 4,061; 31% cohabitors), the current study investigated differences across marital and cohabiting unions regarding the patterns of contact with the parents of the partner. In addition to investigating the frequency of such contact, we assessed the nature of and perceived quality of contacts with the partner's parents. The authors grouped respondents according to whether they had children with their partner and controlled for a range of selection characteristics. Results confirmed that parents with preschool children met their in‐laws more frequently than the childless, irrespective of union type. Married respondents as well as cohabitors with preschool children reported better relations with their partner's parents than childless cohabitors. Taken together, the results imply that having small children was more decisive for the relationship with the parents of the partner than getting married, particularly with regard to contact frequency.     

Emotional Supportiveness and the Union Transitions of Married and Unmarried Parents

As increasing numbers of children are born to unmarried parents, there is a growing need to understand the dynamics of these unions, including their quality, stability, and marriage formation. One aspect of quality is the extent to which partners are emotionally supportive of one another, and this study examines the association of this interdependent emotional supportiveness with couples' union transitions. Using the first two waves of the Fragile Families survey, the analysis compares married, unmarried cohabiting, and unmarried nonresident parents. It finds that couples where neither partner is supportive, as well as some couples where only one partner is supportive, have lower chances of maintaining a stable union and, for unmarried couples, of forming a marriage. For both transitions, active forms of supportiveness appear more salient than verbal expressions of support. This study indicates that couples benefit from active and interdependent emotional support, suggesting that programs and policy aimed at strengthening the relationships of unmarried parents should consider the emotional equity between partners.     

Factors That Facilitate Relationship Entry Among Married and Cohabiting African Americans

This article examines whether social class differences influences low-income, married and cohabiting African Americans to realize that they are in a “coupled” relationship. To determine the extent to which social class influences the assessment of “couple” status in these partnerships, we examined the qualitative responses of 30 cohabiting and 31 married African Americans to a question regarding the specific event in their relationship that made them realize they were a couple. Qualitative analyses of the data resulted in four delineated themes: (1) relationship marker, (2) affection/sex, (3) having or rearing children, and (4) time and money. Supporting qualitative data are presented in connection with each theme. The sociological aspects of income on African American romantic relationships are also discussed.     

The Family Ties of Unmarried Cohabiting and Married Persons in the Netherlands

Using a nationally representative survey (N = 4,612), we analyze whether there is a difference in the Netherlands between cohabiting and married persons with regard to the frequency of contact with one’s own family as well as the parents of the partner. Clustered regression analyses show that, as expected, cohabiting persons have less contact with family members. Results are consistent with the selection perspective, which attributes the lower levels of contact to background characteristics, influencing the orientation of the cohabiting toward family. The uncertainty perspective, which attributes the lower levels of contact with the parents of the partner to the greater uncertainty regarding the stability of cohabiting relationships, is partially supported.     

Separations,Reconciliations, and Living Apart in Cohabiting and Marital Unions

Using data from a panel study of White young adults containing complete marital and cohabiting union histories from age 15 through 31, our goal is to track and compare the paths along which young adults arrange and time the entries and exits from marital and cohabiting unions. We focus on the incidence, duration, and outcomes of 2 dimensions that embrace residential separation: (a) separations that relate to discord in the relationship and (b) living apart from the partner or spouse for reasons other than discord. Our results show that union trajectories are dynamic and involve a heterogeneous and multidirectional array of transitions. We also find consistent differences supporting the idea that marital unions are more stable and durable than cohabiting unions.     

Cohabiting,Dating, and Perceived Costs of Marriage: A Model of Marriage Entry

This paper investigates the decision to marry among individuals in cohabiting and steady noncohabiting relationships, with emphasis on the effects of cohabitation in the decision‐making process. A model is proposed wherein cohabitation influences the perceived costs and benefits of marriage, which influence intentions and expectations to marry, which influence actual marriage entry. The model is tested using data from the first and second waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. Cohabitation status is found to predict perceived costs and benefits of marriage, and also to predict marriage intentions and expectations. Cost perceptions further predict intentions and expectations among both cohabitors and daters, and perceived costs, intentions, and expectations to marry the partner predict actual marriage behavior. Cohabitation appears to significantly change the context in which decisions about marriage are made in romantic relationships and merits a greater place in the literature on dating and courtship.     

Equal access to income and union dissolution among mainland Puerto Ricans

This study investigates the implications for union stability of different methods for providing access to income in cohabiting and marital unions among mainland Puerto Ricans. Using the Puerto Rican Maternal and Infant Health Study (N = 836), we show that union dissolution is associated with both union type and type of method. The relatively high rate of union dissolution among cohabiters is explained partially by their lower likelihood of organizing access to income under an equality principle through income pooling. Cohabiting unions that follow the equality principle, however, are as stable as marital unions that follow the equality principle. These patterns are interpreted in terms of the role of economic equality in solidifying socioemotional bonds.     

Adolescent Well‐Being in Cohabiting,Married, and Single‐Parent Families

Cohabitation is a family form that increasingly includes children. We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to assess the well‐being of adolescents in cohabiting parent stepfamilies (N= 13,231). Teens living with cohabiting stepparents often fare worse than teens living with two biological married parents. Adolescents living in cohabiting stepfamilies experience greater disadvantage than teens living in married stepfamilies. Most of these differences, however, are explained by socioeconomic circumstances. Teenagers living with single unmarried mothers are similar to teens living with cohabiting stepparents; exceptions include greater delinquency and lower grade point averages experienced by teens living with cohabiting stepparents. Yet mother's marital history explains these differences. Our results contribute to our understanding of cohabitation and debates about the importance of marriage for children.     

Union Transitions Among Cohabitors: The Significance of Relationship Assessments and Expectations

Data from both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) were used to estimate the effects of couple‐level measures of cohabitors' relationship assessments and expectations on their union transitions. Although positive relationship assessments deterred separation, they did not hasten entry into marriage. Female partners' negative assessments of the relationship increased the odds of separation, whereas such reports among male partners weakened the odds of marriage. Plans to marry were positively associated with marriage entry, but this effect was considerably larger for White couples than it was for Black couples. Cohabitors' expectations that their union would dissolve were also associated with union transitions. When both partners reported an even to high chance of dissolution, the odds of marriage were low, and the odds of separation were high. Cohabitors' own relationship assessments and expectations are significant predictors of their union outcomes.     

More Work for Mother: How Spouses, Cohabiting Partners and Relatives Affect the Hours Mothers Work

This paper investigates the determinants of work hours for mothers ofsmall children living in households with one other adult. We hypothesize that the presence and characteristics of the other adult affect a mother's work-related decision-making, and that the nature of the effect varies by the relationship to the otheradult—whether a spouse, an unmarried partner, or a relative. The results indicate that relationship type shapes how mothers' weekly hours of work respond to financial need, childcare pressures, and their own human capital. Married mothers appear to be more able to call on the earnings of their partners to reduce their work hours than mothers in other household situations. There was little evidence that female relatives freed mothers to work.     

Union Formation and Depression: Selection and Relationship Effects

Many studies have established that married people fare better than their never‐married counterparts in terms of psychological well‐being. It is still unclear, however, whether this advantage is due primarily to beneficial effects of marriage or to the selection of psychologically healthier individuals into marriage. This study employs data on young adults from both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to test hypotheses based on both selection (N= 878) and relationship (N= 722) effects. Further, we differentiate union formation into cohabitation and marriage with and without prior cohabitation. Results indicate no evidence of selection of less depressed persons into either marriage or cohabitation, but a negative effect of entry into marriage on depression, particularly when marriage was not preceded by cohabitation.     

Marriage following the birth of a child among cohabiting and visiting parents

Approximately half of nonmarital births are to mothers in cohabiting relationships, and an additional 30% are to mothers in visiting relationships. I use data (N= 1,945) from the Fragile Families Study to investigate whether the determinants of marriage in the year following a child's birth are similar for cohabiting and visiting parents. The results show that mothers’ education is predictive of marriage for cohabiting parents, whereas mothers’ earnings are predictive of marriage for visiting parents. The findings imply that visiting mothers place a greater emphasis on economic independence and sufficient resources to establish an independent household before transitioning to marriage. No differences in the association of relationship quality or attitudes and marriage are found.     

Premarital Cohabitation and Housework: Couples in Cross‐National Perspective

The authors examine the effect of premarital cohabitation on the division of household labor in 22 countries. First, women do more routine housework than men in all countries. Second, married couples that cohabited before marriage have a more equal division of housework. Third, national cohabitation rates have equalizing effects on couples regardless of their own cohabitation experience. However, the influence of cohabitation rates is only observed in countries with higher levels of overall gender equality. The authors conclude that the trend toward increasing cohabitation may be part of a broader social trend toward a more egalitarian division of housework.     

Entry Into Parenthood and the Outcome of Cohabiting Partnerships in Britain

Data from a national cohort study of men and women born in Britain in 1958 are used to examine factors influencing the outcome of cohabiting first partnerships. Conception is found to be a key factor promoting marriage for both men and women. Observed gender differences in the estimated impact of children on partnership stability are likely due to the incomplete reporting of past fertility among men. Social class and educational differentials in the likelihood of female cohabitors experiencing a conception, and their likelihood of subsequent marriage, suggest that the role of cohabitation varies according to socioeconomic background.