Cohabitation: Recent research and implications

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families

Volumn , Issue , 2014, Pages 217-235

  Kroeger, Rhiannon A ^a   Smock, Pamela J ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN   (United States)

Author keywords

Child well being; Children; Cohabitation; Family change; Family structure; Marriage

Indexed keywords

EID: 84920937230     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1002/9781118374085.ch11     Document Type: Chapter

References (125)

1. Aarskaug Wiik, K. (2011) Socioeconomic differentials in the transition to first cohabitation in Norway. International Review of Sociology, 21 (3), 533-548.
2. Amato, P.R., Landale, N.S., Havasevich-Brooks, T.C. et al. (2008) Precursors of young women’s family formation pathways. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70 (5), 1271-1286.
3. Apel, R. and Kaukinen, C. (2008) On the relationship between family structure and antisocial behavior: parental cohabitation and blended households. Criminology, 46 (1), 35-70.
4. Artis, J.E. (2007) Maternal cohabitation and child well-being among kindergarten children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69 (1), 222-236.
5. Avellar, S. and Smock, P.J. (2005) The economic consequences of the dissolution of cohabiting unions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67 (2), 315-327.
6. Batalova, J.A. and Cohen, P.N. (2002) Premarital cohabitation and housework: couples in cross-national perspective. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64 (3), 743-755.
7. Baxter, J. (2005) To marry or not to marry: marital status and the household division of labor. Journal of Family Issues, 26 (3), 300-321.
8. Brown, S.L. (2000) The effect of union type on psychological well-being: depression among cohabitors versus marrieds. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41 (3), 241-255.
9. Brown, S.L. (2004) Family structure and child well-being: the significance of parental cohabitation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66 (2), 351-367.
10. Brown, S.L. and Manning, W.D. (2009) Family boundary ambiguity and the measurement of family structure: the significance of cohabitation. Demography, 46 (1), 85-101.
11. Brown, S.L. and Kawamura, S. (2010) Relationship quality among cohabitors and marrieds in older adulthood. Social Science Research, 39 (5), 777-786.
12. Brown, S.L., Lee, G.R. and Bulanda, J.R. (2006) Cohabitation among older adults: a national portrait. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 61 (2), S71-S79.
13. Brown, S.L., Bulanda, J.R., and Lee, G.R. (2012) Transitions into and out of cohabitation in later life. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74 (4), 774-793.
14. Bulanda, J.R. and Manning, W.D. (2008) Parental cohabitation experiences and adolescent behavioral outcomes. Population Research and Policy Review, 27 (5), 593.
15. Bumpass, L. and Sweet, J. (1989) National estimates of cohabitation. Demography, 26, 615-625.
16. Bumpass, L. and Lu, H.-H. (2000) Trends in cohabitation and implications for children’s family contexts in the United States. Population Studies -A Journal of Demography, 54 (1), 29-41.
17. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (2002) National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort, 1979-2002 (Rounds 1-20) [computer file]. Edited by The Ohio State University Center for Human Resource Research. Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus.
18. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (2005) National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort, 1997-2003 (Rounds 1-7) [computer file]. Edited by the University of Chicago National Opinion Research Center. Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus.
19. Carlson, M.J., Pilkauskas, N., McLanahan, S., and Brooks-Gunn, J. (2011) Couples as partners and parents over children’s early years. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73 (2), 317.
20. Casper, L.M. and Cohen, P.N. (2000) How does POSSLQ measure up? Historical estimates of cohabitation. Demography, 37 (2), 237-245.
21. Castro Martin, T. (2002) Consensual unions in Latin America: persistence of a dual nuptiality system. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 33 (1), 35-55.
22. Cavanagh, S. and Huston, C. (2006) Family instability and children’s early problem behavior. Social Forces, 85 (1), 551-581.
23. Cavanagh, S., Schiller, K.S., and Riegle-Crumb, C. (2006) Marital transitions, parenting, and schooling: exploring the link between family-structure history and adolescents’ academic status. Sociology of Education, 79 (4), 329-354.
24. Cheng, Y.-H.A. and Landale, N.S. (2011). Adolescent precursors of early union formation among Asian American and white young adults. Journal of Family Issues, 32 (2), 209-236.
25. Cherlin, A.J. (2004) The deinstitutionalization of American marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66 (4), 848-861.
26. Cherlin, A.J. and Fomby, P. (2004) Welfare, work, and changes in mothers’ living arrangements in low-income families. Population Research and Policy Review, 23 (5-6), 543-565.
27. Cohen, J.A. (2011) Children in Cohabiting Unions. FP-11-07. National Center for Family & Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green.
28. Cohen, J.A. and Manning, W.D. (2010) The relationship context of premarital serial cohabitation. Social Science Research, 39 (5), 766-776.
29. Copen, C.E., Daniels, K., Vespa, J., and Mosher, W.D. (2012) First Marriages in the United States: Data from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Health Statistics Reports, 49.
30. Cross Barnet, C., Cherlin, A.J. and Burton, L. (2011) Bound by children: intermittent cohabitation and living together apart. Family Relations, 60 (5), 633-647.
31. Cunningham, M. (2005) Gender in cohabitation and marriage: the influence of gender ideology on housework allocation over the life course. Journal of Family Issues, 26 (8), 1037-1061.
32. Davis, S.N., Greenstein, T.N., and Gerteisen Marks, J.P. (2007) Effects of union type on division of household labor: do cohabiting men really perform more housework?" Journal of Family Issues, 28 (9), 1246-1272.
33. Edin, K., Kefalas, M.J., and Reed, J.M. (2004) A peek inside the black box: what marriage means for poor unmarried parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66 (4), 1007.
34. Eggebeen, D.J. and Dew, J. (2009) The role of religion in adolescence for family formation in young adulthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71 (1), 108-121.
35. Esteve, A., Lesthaeghe, R., and López-Gay, A. (2012) The Latin American cohabitation boom, 1970-2007. Population & Development Review, 38 (1), 55-81.
36. Fomby, P. and Osborne, C. (2010) The influence of union instability and union quality on children’s aggressive behavior. Social Science Research, 39 (6), 912-924.
37. Fussell, E. and Palloni, A. (2004) Persistent marriage regimes in changing times. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 1201-1213.
38. Gault-Sherman, M. and Draper, S. (2012) What will the neighbors think? The effect of moral communities on cohabitation. Review of Religious Research, 54 (1), 45-67.
39. Gibson-Davis, C.M., Edin, K., and McLanahan, S. (2005) High hopes but even higher expectations: the retreat from marriage among low-income couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67 (5), 1301-1312.
40. Glick, P.C. and Spanier, G.B. (1980) Married and unmarried cohabitation in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 42, 19-30.
41. Gonzalbo Aizpuru, P. (1998) Familia y orden colonial, el Colegio de MÈxico, Centro de estudios histÛricos, Mexico.
42. Gupta, S. (1999) The effects of marital status transitions on men’s housework performance. Journal of Marriage & Family, 61, 700-711.
43. Guzzo, K.B. (2009) Marital intentions and the stability of first cohabitations. Journal of Family Issues, 30 (2), 179-205.
44. Hamplova, D. and Le Bourdais, C. (2009) One pot or two pot strategies? Income pooling in married and unmarried households in comparative perspective. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 40 (3), 355-385.
45. Harris, K.M. (2009) The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), Waves I & II, 1994-1996; Wave III, 2001-2002; Wave IV, 2007-2009 [machine-readable data file and documentation]. Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill.
46. Hayford, S.R. and Morgan, S.P. (2008) The quality of retrospective data on cohabitation. Demography, 45 (1), 129-141.
47. Heaton, T.B. and Forste, R. (2007) Informal unions in Mexico and the United States. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 38 (1), 55-69.
48. Heuveline, P. and Timberlake, M.J. (2004) The role of cohabitation in family formation: the United States in comparative perspective. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66 (5), 1214.
49. Huang, P.M., Smock, P.J., Manning, W.D. and Bergstrom-Lynch, C.A. (2011) He says, she says: gender and cohabitation. Journal of Family Issues, 32 (7), 876-905.
50. Impicciatore, R. and Billari, F. (2012) Secularization, union formation practices, and marital stability: evidence from Italy. Sécularisation, Pratiques de Mise en Union et Stabilité des Mariages: Le Cas de l’Italie, 28 (2), 119-138.
51. Kalenkoski, C.M., Ribar, D.C., and L.S. Stratton. (2005) Parental child care in single-parent, cohabiting, and married-couple families: time-diary evidence from the United Kingdom. The American Economic Review, 95 (2), 194-198.
52. Kasearu, K. and Kutsar, D. (2011). Patterns behind unmarried cohabitation trends in Europe. European Societies, 13 (2), 307-325.
53. Kennedy, S. and Bumpass, L. (2008) Cohabitation and children’s living arrangements: new estimates from the United States. Demographic Research, 19, 1663-1692.
54. Kennedy, S. and Fitch, C.A. (2012) Measuring cohabitation and family structure in the United States: assessing the impact of new data from the current population survey. Demography, 49 (4), 1479-1498.
55. Kiernan, K. (2004) Redrawing the boundaries of marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66 (4), 980.
56. King, V. and Scott, M.E. (2005) A comparison of cohabiting relationships among older and younger adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67 (2), 271-285.
57. Knab, J.T. and McLanahan, S. (2007) Measuring cohabitation: does how, when, and who you ask matter? in Handbook of Measurement Issues in Family Research, (eds. S.L. Hofferth and L.M. Casper), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah.
58. Krivickas, K. and Payne, K.K. (2010) Cohabitation in the US, 2006-2008. FP-10-02. National Center for Family & Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green.
59. Lamb, K.A., Lee, G.R., and DeMaris, A. (2003) Union formation and depression: selection and relationship effects. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65 (4), 953.
60. Landale, N.S., Schoen, R. and Daniels, K. (2010) Early family formation among white, black, and Mexican American women. Journal of Family Issues, 31 (4), 445-474.
61. Lesthaeghe, R. (2011) The “second demographic transition”: a conceptual map for the understanding of late modern demographic developments in fertility and family formation. Der “zweite demographische Übergang”: Ein Orientierungskonzept zum Verständnis spätmoderner demographischer Entwicklungen von Fertilität und Familienbildung, 36 (2), 179-218.
62. Lichter, D.T. (2012) Childbearing among cohabiting women: race, pregnancy, and union transitions, in Early Adulthood in a Family Context (eds. A. Booth, S.L. Brown, N.S. Landale et al.), Springer, New York, pp. 209-219.
63. Lichter, D.T. and Qian, Z. (2008) Serial cohabitation and the marital life course. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70 (4), 861-878.
64. Lichter, D.T., Qian, Z., and Mellott, L.M. (2006) Marriage or dissolution? Union transitions among poor cohabiting women. Demography, 43 (2), 223-240.
65. Lichter, D.T., Turner, R.N., and Sassler, S. (2010) National estimates of the rise in serial cohabitation. Social Science Research, 39 (5), 754-765.
66. Liefbroer, A.C. and Dourleijn, E. (2006) Unmarried cohabitation and union stability: testing the role of diffusion using data from 16 European countries. Demography, 43 (2), 203-221.
67. Lofquist, D., Lugalla, T., O’Connell, M., and Feliz, S. (2012) Households and Families: 2010. United States Census Bureau, 2010 Census Briefs, no. 14, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics, Washington, DC.
68. Manlove, J., Ryan, S., Wildsmith, E., and Franzetta, K. (2010) The relationship context of nonmarital childbearing in the U.S.. Demographic Research, 23, 615-653.
69. Manning, W.D. (2010). Trends in Cohabitation: Twenty Years of Change, 1987-2008. FP-10-07. National Center for Family & Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green.
70. Manning, W.D. and Smock, P.J. (1995) Why marry? Race and the transition to marriage among cohabitors. Demography, 32, 509-520.
71. Manning, W.D. and Smock, P.J. (2002) First comes cohabitation and then comes marriage? Journal of Family Issues, 23 (8), 1065-1087.
72. Manning, W.D. and Lamb, K.A. (2003) Adolescent well-being in cohabiting, married, and single-parent families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 65 (4), 876-893.
73. Manning, W.D. and Smock, P.J. (2005) Measuring and modeling cohabitation: new perspectives from qualitative data. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 67 (4), 989-1002.
74. Manning, W.D. and Cohen, J.A. (2012) Premarital cohabitation and marital dissolution: an examination of recent marriages. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74 (2), 377-387.
75. Manning, W.D., Smock, P.J., and Majumdar, D. (2004) The relative stability of cohabiting and marital unions for children. Population Research and Policy Review, 23 (2), 135-159.
76. Manning, W.D., Longmore, M.A., and Giordano, P.C. (2007) The changing institution of marriage: adolescents’ expectations to cohabit and to marry. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69 (3), 559-575.
77. Manning, W.D., Cohen, J.A., and Smock, P.J. (2011) The role of romantic partners, family, and peer networks in dating couples’ views about cohabitation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 26 (1), 115-149.
78. Marcussen, K. (2005) Explaining differences in mental health between married and cohabiting individuals. Social Psychology Quarterly, 68 (3), 239-257.
79. McClain, L.R. (2011a) Better parents, more stable partners: union transitions among cohabiting parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73 (5), 889-901.
80. McClain, L.R. (2011b) Cohabitation: parents following in their children’s footsteps? Sociological Inquiry, 81 (2), 260-271.
81. Meadows, S.O., McLanahan, S.S., and Brooks-Gunn, J. (2008) Stability and change in family structure and maternal health trajectories. American Sociological Review, 73 (2), 314-334.
82. Munoz-Perez, F. and Recano-Valverde, J. (2011) A century of nuptiality in Spain, 1900-2007. European Journal of Population-Revue Europeenne De Demographie, 27 (4), 487-515.
83. Musick, K. (2007) Cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing, and the marriage process. Demographic Research, 16, 249-286.
84. Musick, K. and Bumpass, L. (2012) Reexamining the case for marriage: union formation and changes in well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74 (1), 1-18.
85. Mynarska, M. and Matysiak, A. (2010) Diffusion of cohabitation in Poland. Studia Demograficzne, 1-2 (157-158), 11-25.
86. Nazio, T. (2008) Cohabitation, Family and Society, Routledge, New York.
87. Nazio, T. and Blossfeld, H.-P. (2003) The diffusion of cohabitation among young women in West Germany, East Germany and Italy. European Journal of Population/Revue européenne de Démographie, 19 (1), 47-82.
88. Nock, S.L. (1995) A comparison of marriages and cohabiting relationships. Journal of Family Issues, 16, 53-76.
89. Nock, S.L. (2005) Marriage as a public issue. The Future of Children, 15 (2), 13-32.
90. Noel-Miller, C. (2011) Partner caregiving in older cohabiting couples. The Journals of Gerontology, 66B (3), 341-353.
91. Ochiai, E. (2011) Unsustainable societies: the failure of familialism in East Asia’s compressed modernity. Gesellschaften ohne Nachhaltigkeit: Das Versagen des Familialismus in der komprimierten Moderne Ostasiens, 36 (2), 219-245.
92. Ono, H. and Yeilding, R. (2009) Marriage, cohabitation and childcare: the US and Sweden. Social Indicators Research, 93 (1), 137-140.
93. Osborne, C., Manning, W.D., and Smock, P. (2007) Married and cohabiting parents’ relationship stability: a focus on race and ethnicity. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69 (5), 1345-1366.
94. Payne, K.K. (2011) On the Road to Adulthood: Forming Families. FP-11-08. National Center for Family & Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green.
95. Raley, R.K. and Bumpass, L.L. (2003) The topography of the plateau in divorce: levels and trends in union stability after 1980. Demographic Research, 8, 246-258.
96. Raley, R.K., Frisco, M.L., and Wildsmith, E. (2005) Maternal cohabitation and educational success. Sociology of Education, 78 (2), 144-164.
97. Raley, R.K., Crissey, S. and Muller, C. (2007) Of sex and romance: late adolescent relationships and young adult union formation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69 (5), 1210-1226.
98. Raymo, J., Iwasawa, M. and Bumpass, L. (2009) Cohabitation and family formation in Japan. Demography, 46 (4), 785-803.
99. Regnier-Loilier, A., Beaujouan, E., and Villeneuve-Gokalp, C. (2009) Neither single, nor in a couple. A study of living apart together in France. Demographic Research, 21, 75-108.
100. Reinhold, S. (2010) Reassessing the link between premarital cohabitation and marital instability. Demography, 47 (3), 719-733.
101. Ryan, S., Franzetta, K., Schelar, E., and Manlove, J. (2009) Family structure history: links to relationship formation behaviors in young adulthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71 (4), 935-953.
102. Sassler, S. (2004) The process of entering into cohabiting unions. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 66 (2), 491-505.
103. Sassler, S. and Miller, A.J. (2011a) Class differences in cohabitation processes. Family Relations, 60 (2), 163-177.
104. Sassler, S. and Miller, A.J. (2011b). Waiting to be asked: gender, power, and relationship progression among cohabiting couples. Journal of Family Issues, 32 (4), 482-506.
105. Schmeer, K.K. (2011) The child health disadvantage of parental cohabitation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73 (1), 181-193.
106. Schoen, R., Landale, N., and Daniels, K. (2007) Family transitions in young adulthood. Demography, 44 (4), 807-820.
107. Smock, P.J. (2000) Cohabitation in the United States: an appraisal of research themes, findings, and implications. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 1-20.
108. Smock, P.J. and Manning, W.D. (1997). Cohabiting partners’ economic circumstances and marriage. Demography, 34, 331-341.
109. Smock, P.J., Manning, W.D., and Porter, M. (2005) “Everything’s there except money”: how money shapes decisions to marry among cohabitors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67 (3), 680-696.
110. Soons, J.P.M. and Kalmijn, M. (2009) Is marriage more than cohabitation? Well-being differences in 30 European countries. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71 (5), 1141-1157.
111. Stanley, S.M., Whitton, S.W., and Markman, H.J. (2004) Maybe I do: interpersonal commitment and premarital or nonmarital cohabitation. Journal of Family Issues, 25 (4), 496-519.
112. Sweet, J.A., Bumpass, L.L., and Call, V. (1988) The Design and Content of the National Survey of Families and Households. University of Wisconsin, Center for Demography and Ecology, Madison.
113. Treas, J. and Giesen, D. (2000) Sexual infidelity among married and cohabiting Americans. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62 (1), 48-60.
114. Tsuya, N.O. (2006) Patterns and correlates of partnership formation in Japan. Journal of Population Problems, 621.
115. U.S. Census Bureau. (2011) Table UC1. Unmarried Partners of the Opposite Sex, by Presence of Children: 1960 to Present 2011, http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2011.html (accessed October 31, 2013).
116. Vespa, J. and Painter, M.A. (2011) Cohabitation history, marriage, and wealth accumulation. Demography, 48 (3), 983-1004.
117. Waller, M.R. and McLanahan, S. (2005) “His” and “Her” marriage expectations: deter minants and consequences. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 53-67.
118. Willetts, M.C. (2006) Union quality comparisons between long-term heterosexual cohabitation and legal marriage. Journal of Family Issues, 27 (1), 110-127.
119. Willetts, M.C. and Maroules, N.G. (2004) Does remarriage matter? The well-being of adolescents living with cohabitating versus remarried mothers. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 41 (3/4), 115-133.
120. Williams, S. (2012a) Child Poverty in the United States, 2010. FP-12-17. National Center for Family & Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green.
121. Williams, S. (2012b) Health Insurance Coverage of U.S. Children, 2010. FP-12-16. National Center for Family & Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green.
122. Williams, L., Kabamalan, M., and Ogena, N. (2007) Cohabitation in the Philippines: attitudes and behaviors among young women and men. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69 (5), 1244-1256.
123. Xenos, P. and Kabamalan, M.M.M. (2007) Emerging forms of union formation in the Philippines. Asian Population Studies, 3 (3), 263-286.
124. Yabiku, S. and Gager, C. (2009) Sexual frequency and the stability of marital and cohabiting unions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71 (4), 983-1000.
125. Zeng, Y.I, Morgan, S.P., Wang, Z. et al. (2012) A multistate life table analysis of union regimes in the United States: trends and racial differentials, 1970-2002. Population Research and Policy Review, 31 (2), 207-234.