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Change in the Stability of First Premarital Cohabitation Among Women in the United States, 1983–2013

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  • Esther O. Lamidi

    (University of Colorado Colorado Springs)

  • Wendy D. Manning

    (Bowling Green State University)

  • Susan L. Brown

    (Bowling Green State University)

Abstract

The rapid growth in cohabitation over the past quarter-century necessitates studies of changes in the stability and outcomes of cohabitation. We utilized data from the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and the most recent NSFG data from 2011–2013 to examine the outcomes of two comparable cohorts of first premarital cohabiting women (1983–1988 and 2006–2013). Our results showed that cohabitations formed between 2006 and 2013 lasted longer—18 months, on average—than those formed in the mid-1980s, which lasted for an average of 12 months. We found that the lengthening of cohabitation over time cuts across sociodemographic characteristics—race/ethnicity, education, and motherhood status—and resulted mostly from the declining rate of transitioning to marriage. We found some support for the diverging destinies perspective in that disparities in the outcomes of cohabitation by education and by cohabiting birth have widened over time. Our analyses showed that changes in the outcomes of first premarital cohabiting unions over the past three decades were not due to compositional shifts in cohabitors. These results demonstrate the evolving dynamics of cohabitation over a 30-year window.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:56:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s13524-019-00765-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-019-00765-7
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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. Stratton, Leslie S., 2023. "Marriage versus Cohabitation: How Specialization and Time Use Differ by Relationship Type," IZA Discussion Papers 16097, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    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. Kate Choi & Rachel Goldberg & Patrick Denice, 2022. "Stability and outcome of interracial cohabitation before and after transitions to marriage," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(33), pages 957-1006.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Sirio Cividino & Gianluca Egidi & Luca Salvati, 2020. "Unraveling the (Uneven) Linkage? A Reflection on Population Aging and Suburbanization in a Mediterranean Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    8. Castro Ayebeng & Kwamena Sekyi Dickson & Abdul-Aziz Seidu & Joshua Amo-Adjei, 2022. "Single motherhood in Ghana: analysis of trends and predictors using demographic and health survey data," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    9. Stratton, Leslie S., 2023. "Marriage versus Cohabitation: How Specialization and Time Use Differ by Relationship Type," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1269, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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