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Diverging Patterns of Union Transition Among Cohabitors by Race/Ethnicity and Education: Trends and Marital Intentions in the United States

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  • Janet Chen-Lan Kuo

    (National Taiwan University)

  • R. Kelly Raley

    (University of Texas at Austin)

Abstract

The rise of cohabitation in family process among American young adults and declining rates of marriage among cohabitors are considered by some scholars as evidence for the importance of society-wide ideational shifts propelling recent changes in family. With data on two cohabiting cohorts from the NSFG 1995 and 2006–2010, the current study finds that marriage rates among cohabitors have declined steeply among those with no college degree, resulting in growing educational disparities over time. Moreover, there are no differences in marital intentions by education (or race/ethnicity) among recent cohabitors. We discuss how findings of this study speak to the changes in the dynamics of social stratification system in the United States and suggest that institutional and material constraints are at least as important as ideational accounts in understanding family change and family behavior of contemporary young adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Chen-Lan Kuo & R. Kelly Raley, 2016. "Diverging Patterns of Union Transition Among Cohabitors by Race/Ethnicity and Education: Trends and Marital Intentions in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(4), pages 921-935, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:53:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s13524-016-0483-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-016-0483-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Emily Parker, 2021. "Gender Differences in the Marital Plans and Union Transitions of First Cohabitations," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(4), pages 673-694, August.
    2. Wang, Jia, 2022. "Mothers’ Nonstandard Work Schedules and Children’s Behavior Problems: Divergent Patterns by Maternal Education," OSF Preprints a48rj, Center for Open Science.
    3. Deirdre Bloome & Shannon Ang, 2020. "Marriage and Union Formation in the United States: Recent Trends Across Racial Groups and Economic Backgrounds," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1753-1786, October.
    4. Sharon Sassler & Katherine Michelmore & Zhenchao Qian, 2018. "Transitions From Sexual Relationships Into Cohabitation and Beyond," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(2), pages 511-534, April.
    5. Laura Wright, 2019. "Union Transitions and Fertility Within First Premarital Cohabitations in Canada: Diverging Patterns by Education?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(1), pages 151-167, February.
    6. Gusta G. Wachter & Helga A. G. Valk, 2022. "Cohort Succession in the Timing of Marriage Among the Children of Turkish and Moroccan Immigrants," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(3), pages 485-516, August.
    7. Sarah R. Brauner-Otto & William G. Axinn & Dirgha J. Ghimire, 2020. "Parents’ Marital Quality and Children’s Transition to Adulthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(1), pages 195-220, February.
    8. Patrick Ishizuka, 2018. "The Economic Foundations of Cohabiting Couples’ Union Transitions," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(2), pages 535-557, April.
    9. Zhenchao Qian & Daniel T. Lichter, 2018. "Marriage Markets and Intermarriage: Exchange in First Marriages and Remarriages," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 849-875, June.
    10. Wendy D. Manning & Pamela J. Smock & Marshal Neal Fettro, 2019. "Cohabitation and Marital Expectations Among Single Millennials in the U.S," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(3), pages 327-346, June.
    11. Wei-hsin Yu & Yuko Hara, 2020. "Job characteristics, marital intentions, and partner-seeking actions: Longitudinal evidence from Japan," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(52), pages 1509-1544.
    12. Wendy D. Manning, 2020. "Young Adulthood Relationships in an Era of Uncertainty: A Case for Cohabitation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 799-819, June.
    13. Esther O. Lamidi & Wendy D. Manning & Susan L. Brown, 2019. "Change in the Stability of First Premarital Cohabitation Among Women in the United States, 1983–2013," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 427-450, April.
    14. Haoming Song, 2022. "Women’s Divergent Union Transitions After Marital Dissolution in the United States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 953-980, June.
    15. Wendy D. Manning & Kara Joyner & Paul Hemez & Cassandra Cupka, 2019. "Measuring Cohabitation in U.S. National Surveys," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1195-1218, August.

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