Premarital Cohabitation, Marital Dissolution, and Marital Quality in China

Abstract

Using data from the 2018 Chinese Family Panel Studies, this study examines the associations between premarital cohabitation, marital satisfaction, and the probability of a subsequent divorce and captures the gradated variations of marital quality by incorporating divorce and self-rated marital satisfaction into a generic measure of marital quality. Findings show positive associations between cohabitation and divorce and negative associations between cohabitation and marital quality. Results further show that the negative association between cohabitation and marital quality is weakened by better education, higher income, and rural origin, and stronger among men. The consistent negative associations between cohabitation and all the marital quality outcomes indicate the persistent strength of the norm of universal marriage, based on which cohabitation is still considered substantively distinct from marriage both in terms of legal status and social recognition. The diverse social gradients of the cohabitation-marital quality links reflect the heterogeneous social meanings of cohabitation in contemporary China.

Premarital cohabitation and the gendered division of household labor in China

“…Young adults who were exposed to Western culture began to adopt individualistic values and displayed a growing acceptance of premarital cohabitation (Yeung and Hu, 2013). Institutional factors such as rural-to-urban migration and the expansion of higher education have also contributed to the rise in cohabitation (Mu, 2023). Because of the ideological changes and institutional factors, the rate of premarital cohabitation has increased extensively from nearly nonexistent before 1980 to more than 40% among individuals who entered into marriage between 2010 and 2012 (Yu and Xie, 2015).…”

Romantic relationships and attitudes in Asian emerging adults: Review and critique

“…Despite cultural variations, recent statistics indicate that demographic shifts observed in the United States are also occurring in Asia due to rapid economic growth and increased globalization. For instance, there has been an increase in cohabitation rates, delayed marriage, and engagement in premarital sexual activities among the emerging adult population in Asia, particularly among those who are educated (Madigan & Blair, 2020; Mu, 2023; Yeung & Jones, 2023). In 2016, the average age of first marriage for men in many Asian countries, such as South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan, was 31, and for women, it was 29 (Kameke, 2019).…”