IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v53y2025i9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Where do we go from here? Partnership-parenthood trajectories of cohabitation as first union during young adulthood in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Wenxuan Huang

    (Johns Hopkins University)

  • Jessica A. Kelley

    (Case Western Reserve University)

Abstract

Background: There has been considerable discussion about the role of cohabitation in family formation since the rise of cohabitation trends in Western societies. However, empirical evidence on how cohabitation-initiated partnership-parenthood trajectories unfold within specific cohorts remains limited. Objective: This study aims to identify typical partnership-parenthood trajectories following cohabitation as a first union in young adulthood and to examine how the likelihood of entering each trajectory varies by sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to construct 60-month partnership-parenthood sequences after cohabitation as a first union. We applied sequence analysis and cluster analysis to identify typical patterns and estimated multinomial logistic regression models to examine the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and cluster membership. Results: We identified six typical partnership-parenthood trajectories among young cohabiters. College-educated cohabiters were more likely to enter the marriage-bound trajectory with delayed childbearing. Racial/ethnic minorities were less likely to enter trajectories involving eventual marriage and were overrepresented in trajectories characterized by non-marital birth and relationship instability. Conclusions: Our findings show that there is no single dominant partnership-parenthood pattern, indicating that cohabitation remains a liminal space between singlehood and marriage for the NLSY97 cohort. Sociodemographic differences are more pronounced in entry into certain trajectories than into others. Contribution: This study advances understanding of cohabitation’s role in family formation by offering a nuanced description of temporal patterns in partnership-parenthood trajectories. It also provides novel evidence for the “diverging destinies” thesis, highlighting how social inequality shapes early family formation.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenxuan Huang & Jessica A. Kelley, 2025. "Where do we go from here? Partnership-parenthood trajectories of cohabitation as first union during young adulthood in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 53(9), pages 245-260.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:53:y:2025:i:9
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2025.53.9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol53/9/53-9.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2025.53.9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Paola Di Giulio & Roberto Impicciatore & Maria Sironi, 2019. "The changing pattern of cohabitation: A sequence analysis approach," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(42), pages 1211-1248.
    4. Sara Mclanahan, 2004. "Diverging destinies: How children are faring under the second demographic transition," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(4), pages 607-627, November.
    5. Sara McLanahan, 2009. "Fragile Families and the Reproduction of Poverty," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 621(1), pages 111-131, January.
    6. Gabadinho, Alexis & Ritschard, Gilbert & Müller, Nicolas S & Studer, Matthias, 2011. "Analyzing and Visualizing State Sequences in R with TraMineR," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 40(i04).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    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. 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.
    3. Zachary Van Winkle & Anette Fasang, 2021. "The complexity of employment and family life courses across 20th century Europe: More evidence for larger cross-national differences but little change across 1916‒1966 birth cohorts," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(32), pages 775-810.
    4. Rachel Arocho, 2021. "“I Have No Idea:” Uncertainty in High School Seniors’ Marital Expectations," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(4), pages 771-793, August.
    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. Anette Fasang & Marcel Raab, 2014. "Beyond Transmission: Intergenerational Patterns of Family Formation Among Middle-Class American Families," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(5), pages 1703-1728, October.
    7. Tom Kleinepier & Helga de Valk, 2016. "Ethnic differences in family trajectories of young adult women in the Netherlands: Timing and sequencing of events," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(24), pages 671-710.
    8. Paula England & Man Xu, 2025. "U.S. Women’s First Family-Forming Transitions to Cohabitation or Birth: Differences by Racial and Socioeconomic Disadvantage Challenge the Theory of the Second Demographic Transition," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 44(4), pages 1-35, August.
    9. Doron Shiffer-Sebba & Hyunjoon Park, 2021. "US baby boomers’ homeownership trajectories across the life course: A Sequence Analysis approach," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(43), pages 1057-1072.
    10. Rannveig Kaldager Hart, 2019. "Union Histories of Dissolution: What Can They Say About Childlessness?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(1), pages 101-131, February.
    11. Zachary Van Winkle, 2020. "Early Family Life Course Standardization in Sweden: The Role of Compositional Change," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(4), pages 765-798, September.
    12. Alessandro Di Nallo, 2025. "The partnership context of first parenthood – and how it varies by parental class and birth cohort in the United Kingdom," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 53(16), pages 465-510.
    13. Leticia Marteleto & Molly Dondero, 2013. "Maternal age at first birth and adolescent education in Brazil," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(28), pages 793-820.
    14. Marcel Raab & Emanuela Struffolino, 2020. "The Heterogeneity of Partnership Trajectories to Childlessness in Germany," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(1), pages 53-70, March.
    15. Ekaterina Mitrofanova & Alyona Artamonova, 2016. "The perspectives of family policy in Russia amid increasing cohabitation," European Journal of Government and Economics, Europa Grande, vol. 5(1), pages 47-63, June.
    16. James M. Raymo & Miho Iwasawa & Brienna Perelli-Harris & Marcia Carlson & Sojung Lim & Alicia VanOrman, 2015. "Educational differences in early childbearing," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(3), pages 65-92.
    17. Baccar, Mariem & Raynal, Hélène & Sekhar, Muddu & Bergez, Jacques-Eric & Willaume, Magali & Casel, Pierre & Giriraj, P. & Murthy, Sanjeeva & Ruiz, Laurent, 2023. "Dynamics of crop category choices reveal strategies and tactics used by smallholder farmers in India to cope with unreliable water availability," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    18. Jaap Nieuwenhuis & Pieter Hooimeijer & Saskia van Dorsselaer & Wilma Vollebergh, 2013. "Neighbourhood Effects on School Achievement: The Mediating Effect of Parenting and Problematic Behaviour?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(9), pages 2135-2153, September.
    19. Judith A. Seltzer, 2019. "Family Change and Changing Family Demography," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 405-426, April.
    20. Steven Ruggles, 2015. "Patriarchy, Power, and Pay: The Transformation of American Families, 1800–2015," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(6), pages 1797-1823, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:53:y:2025:i:9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.