9.2: Cohabitation

Cohabitation has been studied extensively for the last three decades, especially in contrast between cohabiting and married couples. Clear findings consistently show that cohabiting and marriage are two different creatures. Those who cohabit have less clarity on the intention and direction of the relationship than do marrieds. Further people who cohabit, then later marry, are more likely to divorce than those who never cohabited. In 2010 the U.S. Center for Disease Control reported that cohabitation is very common in our day:

"Among both men and women aged 15-44 who had ever cohabited and or married, the largest proportion cohabited before their first marriage. Approximately \(28 \%\) of men and women cohabited before their first marriage, whereas \(23 \%\) of women and \(18 \%\) of men married without ever cohabiting. About \(15 \%\) of men and women had only cohabited (without ever marrying), and less than seven percent of men and women first cohabited after their first marriages ended." \({ }^{11}\)

This report also stated that some of the cohabitation relationships dissolved while others transitioned to marriage. Less educated cohabiters cohabited longer while college-graduated cohabiters transitioned to marriage more.

There are a number of different ways of measuring cohabitation. The U.S. Census Bureau reported about \(6,209,000\) U.S. Unmarried-Partner households in 2007. Since a household in this case contains at least two persons we can derive \(6,209,000 \times 2=12,418,000\) unmarried adults sharing households. These data were extrapolated from the American Community Survey, and the types of unmarried-partner households are identified in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\).

Although this survey did not identify sexual orientation, many find these to be good indicators of heterosexual partner pairs (about 5.456 million) and homosexual partners (about 754,000). Keep in mind that there are millions of gays, lesbians, and heterosexuals who do not have a partner living in the same household. David Popenoe reported on attitudes about cohabitation and said that most teenagers report that living together before marrying is a good idea and that 50\% of U.S. women ages 19-44 had cohabited at some point in their lives. He also compared U.S. couples to couples in other Western nations and found that in the U.S. about 7.6% of all couples cohabited, much lower than most other countries in Western Europe.¹³

Not all cohabitation experiences are the same. There are people who cohabit more than once. Serial cohabiters are persons who have a series of cohabiting relationships over the course of time. These persons tend to be poorer and less educated in the U.S. When or if these persons ever marry, their divorce risks are over two times higher than those who never cohabited in a series. \({ }^{14}\)

A recent study on U.S. cohabitation and marriage was published online by the National Center for Health Statistics using Wave 6 data. \({ }^{15}\) They surveyed 15-44 year old singles in 2002 and assessed their relationship patterns. They found that only nine percent were currently cohabiting and that less than \(30 \%\) were likely to still be cohabiting after five years together (compared to \(78 \%\) of marrieds still together after five years). Part of this is because many of the cohabiters eventually married while some ended the relationship. In fact, among first-time cohabiters, \(65 \%\) eventually married. This report also stated that 28\% had cohabited before their first marriage.

Based on data presented in this report, you can see in Figures \(\PageIndex{2}\) (women) and \(\PageIndex{3}\) (men) patterns of marriage and cohabitation among those who were in either of these relationships (does not include singles). You quickly begin to see patterns of higher marriage and lower cohabitation across the age categories. The older people were much more likely to be married than the younger ones. You can also see that cohabitation was more common among younger groups. This again confirms the belief among younger people in the U.S. that cohabitation is normal or expected.

Those cohabiters who get pregnant often have two choices: marry or break up. Breaking up is often more common than marrying. \({ }^{16}\) Another recent study reported on lower commitment levels among cohabiting couples, and that the less religious were more likely to cohabit than marry. \({ }^{17}\) Lichter and Qian (2008) reported that cohabiting couples' intentions to marry plays into their relationship outcome. In other words, if they move in together thinking they will marry someday, it may lead to a longer relationship as long as both have the same intention and neither changes their mind.

Finally, there are known benefits to being married and in a longterm relationship rather than being single, divorced, or cohabiting. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) shows health benefits from the cohabitation and marriage study of the National Survey of Family Growth. Better mental and physical health with better medical insurance coverage prove to be crucial qualities for marrieds. As far as children are concerned, having better care and better adult outcomes are crucial factors.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Health Benefits Known to be an Advantage among Married Persons in the U.S.¹⁸

Benefits
Generally better mental and physical health outcomes
Longer lives
Higher rates of health insurance coverage
Lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease
Better health and well-being of children
Children born to unmarried mothers are at greater risk for poverty, teen childbearing, poor school achievement, and marital disruption in adulthood than children born to married mothers

There are also known financial benefits when comparing marrieds to non-marrieds. More wealth accumulation, higher assets, and higher monthly income are consistent among marrieds. Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\) shows the annual earnings of married individuals compared to single men and single women. The first thing you notice is that marrieds have consistently higher annual incomes. In 2007 specifically, marrieds had \(\$ 28,231\) more income than single men and \(\$ 42,293\) more than single women. The difference is even more pronounced if both incomes are taken into consideration for dual income marrieds (i.e., in 2007 dual income couples had \(\$ 86,435\) which is \(\$ 42,077\) higher than single men and \(\$ 56,139\) more than single women).

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\) summarizes the known benefits to marrieds over nonmarrieds that have been established through numerous studies over the last three decades. Married people are safer and less prone to get into trouble than others. There is a buffering effect that accompanies having a lifelong devoted spouse who helps deflect stress and hardships on a daily basis. Thus some of the health benefits of longer life, less suicide, more stable health coverage, and less illness and addiction. Also, marrieds have more social support, more continuity in long-term relationships, and especially more closeness for men in intimate family relationships. Husbands are less likely to abuse and be violent toward their wives than are boyfriends and partners. Married people have clear life-long goals and tend to buy homes, invest, and plan for retirement more than others. The government and military recognize spouses and reward them with tax breaks, benefits, and other sources of coverage and support more than others. In later life, many elderly report that their family relationships are very supportive and important to them. Studies show that the elderly enjoy their human investment in their children and grandchildren that yields emotional and social rewards throughout their golden years.

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\): Known Benefits Enjoyed by Married Couples in Comparison to Non-Married Persons.

Benefits
Less likely to become victims of crime
Less likely to commit crimes
Less addiction
Fewer accidents (especially among men)
Less suicide
Better stress management because spouse is a buffer to life's stresses
More social and emotional support (less loneliness)
More intimate connections to family members
Long-term continuity in family relationships of children, in-laws, grandchildren, etc.
Lower risk of domestic violence for women
Longer life expectancies

1. Less likely to become victims of crime
2. Less likely to commit crimes
3. Less addiction
4. Fewer accidents (especially among men)
5. Less suicide
6. Better stress management because spouse is a buffer to life's stresses
7. More social and emotional support (less loneliness)
8. More intimate connections to family members
9. Long-term continuity in family relationships of children, in-laws, grandchildren, etc.
10. Lower risk of domestic violence for women
11. Longer life expectancies

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