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Cohabitation Expectations Among Young Adults in the United States: Do They Match Behavior?

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  • Wendy Manning
  • Pamela Smock
  • Cassandra Dorius
  • Elizabeth Cooksey

Abstract

Cohabitation continues to rise, but there is a lack of knowledge about expectations to cohabit and the linkage between expectations and subsequent cohabitation. We capitalize on a new opportunity to study cohabitation expectations by drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79) main youth and two waves (2008 and 2010) of the NLSY young adult (YA) surveys (n = 1,105). We find considerable variation in cohabitation expectations: 39.9 % have no expectation of cohabiting in the future and 16.6 % report high odds of cohabiting in the next 2 years. Cohabitation expectations are associated with higher odds of entering a cohabiting relationship, but are not perfectly associated. Only 38 % of YAs with certain cohabitation expectations in 2008 entered a cohabiting union by 2010. Further investigation of the mismatch between expectations and behaviors indicates that a substantial minority (30 %) who entered a cohabiting union had previously reported no or low expectations, instances of what we term “unplanned cohabitation.” Our findings underscore the importance of considering not only just behavior but also individuals’ expectations for understanding union formation, and more broadly, family change. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Wendy Manning & Pamela Smock & Cassandra Dorius & Elizabeth Cooksey, 2014. "Cohabitation Expectations Among Young Adults in the United States: Do They Match Behavior?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(2), pages 287-305, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:33:y:2014:i:2:p:287-305
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-013-9316-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Katrin Schwanitz & Francesco Rampazzo & Agnese Vitali, 2021. "Unpacking intentions to leave the parental home in Europe using the Generations and Gender Survey," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(2), pages 17-54.
    2. Sara Mernitz, 2018. "A cohort comparison of trends in first cohabitation duration in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(66), pages 2073-2086.
    3. 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.
    4. Daniel Schneider & Kristen Harknett & Matthew Stimpson, 2019. "Job Quality and the Educational Gradient in Entry Into Marriage and Cohabitation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 451-476, April.
    5. 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.
    6. Eric E. Sevareid & Katherine Graham & Karen Benjamin Guzzo & Wendy D. Manning & Susan L. Brown, 2023. "Have Teens’ Cohabitation, Marriage, and Childbearing Goals Changed Since the Great Recession?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(6), pages 1-29, December.

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