Cohabitation in the United States: An Appraisal of Research Themes, Findings, and Implications

TLDR

Cohabitation has risen sharply in the United States, prompting a surge of sociological research that has produced a rich body of studies documenting its prevalence and exploring its consequences over the past decade. The article aims to review descriptive findings on cohabitation, explain its recent growth, identify the key research questions that drive the field, and evaluate the existing literature as a whole. The author accomplishes this by conducting a comprehensive literature review, synthesizing descriptive data, assessing explanatory theories, and critically appraising past studies. The review concludes that future research should focus on emerging themes such as gender equality implications, and highlights how cohabitation shapes family dynamics and informs broader social science inquiry.

Abstract

Cohabitation has risen dramatically in the United States in a very short time. So, too, has the amount of sociological research devoted to the topic. In the span of a bit more than a decade, family sociologists and demographers have produced a large and rich body of research, ranging from documentation of cohabitation to assessment of its various consequences and implications. I first review basic descriptive findings about cohabitation as well as common explanations for its striking increase over recent decades. I next identify the central questions motivating most of the extant research and provide an assessment of past research as a whole. Finally, I speculate about themes that will be central to future research on cohabitation and consider the implications of cohabitation for gender equality in the United States and social science research on families.