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Change in the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions Following the Birth of a Child

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  • Kelly Musick
  • Katherine Michelmore

Abstract

The share of births to cohabiting couples has increased dramatically in recent decades. How we evaluate the implications of these increases depends critically on change in the stability of cohabiting families. This study examines change over time in the stability of U.S. couples who have a child together, drawing on data from the 1995 and 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). We parse out the extent to which change in the stability of cohabiting and married families reflects change in couples’ behavior versus shifts in the characteristics of those who cohabit, carefully accounting for trajectories of cohabitation and marriage around the couple’s first birth. Multivariate event history models provide evidence of a weakening association between cohabitation and instability given that marriage occurs at some point before or after the couple’s first birth. The more recent data show statistically indistinguishable separation risks for couples who have a birth in marriage without ever cohabiting, those who cohabit and then have a birth in marriage, and those who have a birth in cohabitation and then marry. Cohabiting unions with children are significantly less stable when de-coupled from marriage, although the parents in this group also differ most from others on observed (and likely, unobserved) characteristics. Copyright Population Association of America 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Kelly Musick & Katherine Michelmore, 2015. "Change in the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions Following the Birth of a Child," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(5), pages 1463-1485, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:52:y:2015:i:5:p:1463-1485
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-015-0425-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Harknett, Kristen & Mancini, Patrizia & Knox, Virginia, 2022. "Improvements in father-child interactions: Video observations from the Just Beginning study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. Goussé, Marion & Leturcq, Marion, 2022. "More or less unmarried. The impact of legal settings of cohabitation on labour market outcomes," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Judith A. Seltzer, 2019. "Family Change and Changing Family Demography," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 405-426, April.
    4. 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.
    5. Kelly Musick & Katherine Michelmore, 2018. "Cross-National Comparisons of Union Stability in Cohabiting and Married Families With Children," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(4), pages 1389-1421, August.
    6. 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.
    7. Daniel T. Lichter & Katherine Michelmore & Richard N. Turner & Sharon Sassler, 2016. "Pathways to a Stable Union? Pregnancy and Childbearing Among Cohabiting and Married Couples," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(3), pages 377-399, June.
    8. Marissa Landeis & Wendy D. Manning & Monica A. Longmore & Peggy C. Giordano & Kara Joyner, 2021. "The Relationship Context of Early Transitions to Parenthood: The Influence of Arrest," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(4), pages 723-746, August.
    9. Maurice Anyawie & Wendy Manning, 2019. "Cohabitation and Contraceptive Use in the United States: A Focus on Race and Ethnicity," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(3), pages 307-325, June.
    10. Christina M. Gibson-Davis & Elizabeth O. Ananat & Anna Gassman-Pines, 2016. "Midpregnancy Marriage and Divorce: Why the Death of Shotgun Marriage Has Been Greatly Exaggerated," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(6), pages 1693-1715, December.
    11. Elizabeth Thomson & Maria Winkler-Dworak & Éva Beaujouan, 2019. "Contribution of the Rise in Cohabiting Parenthood to Family Instability: Cohort Change in Italy, Great Britain, and Scandinavia," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(6), pages 2063-2082, December.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Tina Haux & Lucinda Platt, 2021. "Fathers’ Involvement with Their Children Before and After Separation," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(1), pages 151-177, March.

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