National Estimates of Cohabitation

Abstract

Data from the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households are used to provide national estimates of cohabitation trends and levels. The rapid increase since around 1970 is documented over both birth cohorts and marriage cohorts. Almost half of the persons in their early 30s and half of the recently married have cohabited. Changes in the proportion ever married are compared with changes in the proportion who have either married or cohabited. Much of the decline in marriage has been offset by increased living together without being married. The stability of unions of various types is compared. Cohabitations end very quickly in either marriage or disruption. About 60 percent of all first cohabitations result in marriage. Cohabiting unions and marriages preceded by cohabitation are much more likely to break up than are unions initiated by marriage. Multivariate analysis reveals higher rates of cohabitation among women, whites, persons who did not complete high school, and those from families who received welfare or who lived in a single-parent family while growing up.

Intending to Marry … Students’ Behavioural Intention Towards Family Forming

“…The author does not deny that the cohabitation experience could magnify the impact of existing attitudes and orientations. But in contrast to previous research on cohabiting couples (Bumpass and Sweet 1989, Carlson et al 2004, Manning and Smock 2002, in this survey the young adults who lived together with a partner did not diverge from other students in their expectation toward union-formation. The presumption that cohabiting couples either favour marriage or cohabitation was not affirmed.…”

“…One of these rapid processes is the growth of non-traditional family forms, especially unmarried cohabitation. The increase of cohabitation is illustrated by the fact that the number of children born out of wedlock has risen (Bumpass and Sweet 1989, Kiernan 2000, Manning and Smock 1995, Paetsch, Bala, Bertrand and Glennon 2004, Perelli-Harris et al 2009, Seltzer 2000 and cohabitation is widely approved in western societies (Berrington 2001, Brown 2000, Seltzer 2000. Therefore, cohabitation can be seen as an equal partner to marriage.…”

The Impact of State Welfare Policies on Women's Cohabitation

“…The former are mostly concerned with the number and duration of cohabiting households, especially among couples (i.e., premarital unions). These include Bumpass and Sweet (1989) and Teachman et al (1991), which look at the stability of premarital versus marital unions over time; Bumpass and Raley (1994), which considers how premarital cohabitation affects the duration of unmarried motherhood; and Manning (1992), which studies the link between premarital cohabitation and premarital fertility.…”

“…Controlling for economic factors, long-term trends in marriage, nonmarital cohabitation, and nonmarital childbearing remain (Bumpass and Sweet 1989;Bumpass and Raley 1994; National Center for Health Statistics 1993).…”

“…In recent years it has received increasing attention for two reasons. First, as the age at first marriage rises, the age of first union rises much less-more couples are cohabiting before marriage (Bumpass and Sweet 1989). Evidence shows that these premarital unions are last a shorter time than marriages (Teachman et al 1991), but regardless, a society interested in marriage or in stable unions would be interested in the determinants of cohabitation if it plays a role in the probability of marriage or of stable unions.…”