Cohabitation Testing Ground for Marraige?

Cohabitation Testing Ground for Marraige?

1. Increase in Cohabitation

   • Before 1960s few cohabitated
   • Beginning 1970, cohabitation prior to marriage increase
   • By 1990s, majority of first marriage preceded by cohabitation
   • 1970, 1/2 million unmarried opp sex
   • 2000, 5 million unmarried opp sex
   • 2011, 7.6 million unmarried opp sex
   • 2016, 9 million unmarried opp sex

2. Trends in Cohabitation Over Time

   • 1978 3% of unmarried women cohabitating
   • 1998 9% of unmarried women cohabitating
   • 1978 5% of unmarried men cohabitating
   • 1998 12% of unmarried men cohabitating
   • Rates low because they're only a snapshot in time and most cohabitating unions don't last
   • Late 1960s 8% of marriages preceded by cohabitation
   • Early to mid 1990s 56% of first marriages preceded by cohabitation
   • Early 2000s, 62% of all marriage preceded by cohabitation

3. Numbers on Cohabitation for Women 15-44

   • As first union, 48% of women cohabited with male partner
   • 23% of first union was marriage
   • Percentage of women who cohabited as first union increased
   • 22 months is median duration of first cohabitation
   • 19% of women become pregnant in first year of premarital cohabitation

4. Why has cohabitation increased?

   • Increased uncertainty about stability of marriage
   • Erosion of norms against cohabitation and sexual relations outside marriage
   • Increased availability of reliable birth control

5. Who Cohabits?

   • More common among less affluent and less educated
   • More common before remarriage than first marriage
   • Many cohabiting couples have children

6. Characteristics of Cohabiting Couples

   • Division of household labor more egalitarian
   • Less likely traditional gender roles
   • More likely to believe individual freedom important in marriage
   • More materialistic
   • More likely women value careers
   • Less family oriented
   • More accepting of divorce
   • More egalitarian

7. Cohabitation and Normative Expectations

   • More likely to cross normative expectations for ascribed char. of partners
   • More than twice as likely to be different races as married
   • More likely than married for female to be older and more educated

8. Cohabitation and Postponement of Marriage

   • Accounts for large part of postponement of marriage
   • Far fewer young adults marry by mid 20s
   • Proportion of adults who live in marital or cohabiting union by mid 20s declined less

9. Cohabitation and Births Outside Marriage

   • About half of births outside marriage are births to cohabiting couples
   • Most of rise in childbearing outside marriage has been result of births in cohabitation
   • 20% of single moms have live in boyfriends
   • 33% of single fathers have live in girlfriend
   • 5% of children live in cohabitation
   • 2/5 of children will spend at least some years in cohabiting household

10. Meaning of Cohabitation: testing ground for marriage

    • Stage in marriage process
    • 51% say very likely to get married
    • 25% say somewhat likely to get married
    • Tend to resolve in shot time by marrying or breaking up
    • More likely to be testing ground for marriage among higher education and incomes

11. Meaning of Cohabitation: Alternative to Marriage

    • A way of living that is similar to marriage but doesn't involve legal commitment
    • In France, 1/4 of children live in cohabiting parent families that lasted 10 years
    • In Sweden cohabitation has become almost indistinguishable from marriage
    • cohabitation doesn't appear to be alternative to marriage in U.S.

12. Similarities and Differences to Marriage

    • Similarities
      • Coresidence Intimacy Some degree of economic interdependence
    • Differences
      • Formal and informal societal norms and expectations for marriage nonexistent for cohabitation

13. Cohabitation Changes Meaning of Marriage

    • Several occurrences that used to be for marriage
    • With cohabitation, now more common occurrences outside of marriage
    • Some ways of viewing cohabitation as testing ground for marriage

14. Is Cohabitation Testing Ground for Marriage?

    • Best viewed as testing ground in U.S.
    • Similar to marriage
    • Most don't last long
    • Can be viewed as alternative to single