Journal of Marriage and the Family · 2012 · 242 citations · 49 references
Social SciencesDemographySociologyFamily DemographyFamily StudiesHousehold DemographyCouple RelationshipsFamily FormationMarital RelationshipsMarital Status AnalysisMarriageRelationship DissolutionMarital CommitmentMarriage StabilityPremarital Cohabitation
Family researchers question why cohabitation is positively associated with marital dissolution when it is often used to test compatibility. The authors examined whether premarital cohabitation experiences were associated with marital instability among a recent contemporary marriage cohort of men (N = 1,483) and women (N = 2,003). They used data from the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth. They found that premarital cohabitation was not associated with marital instability for either sex, and that among cohabitors, prior marital commitment lowered instability hazards for women but not men, contributing to understanding of cohabitation and marital instability.
An ongoing question remains for family researchers: Why does a positive association between cohabitation and marital dissolution exist when one of the primary reasons to cohabit is to test relationship compatibility? Drawing on recently collected data from the 2006 - 2008 National Survey of Family Growth, the authors examined whether premarital cohabitation experiences were associated with marital instability among a recent contemporary (married since 1996) marriage cohort of men (N = 1,483) and women (N = 2,003). They found that a dichotomous indicator of premarital cohabitation was in fact not associated with marital instability among women and men. Furthermore, among cohabitors, marital commitment prior to cohabitation (engagement or definite plans for marriage) was tied to lower hazards of marital instability among women, but not men. This research contributes to our understanding of cohabitation, marital instability, and broader family change.
49