University Student Cohabitation: A Regional Comparison of Selected Attitudes and Behavior

Abstract

A nonrandom sample consisting of 1191 students in family or marriage classes in 14 state universities--two schools in each of seven regions--completed questionnaires dealing with cohabitation. The results were as follows: approximately onequarter of the students had cohabited at some time; a greater percentage of males than females had cohabited; just over half of the cohabitants thought their parents probably or definitely did not know of their cohabitation, with parents of males and females equally likely to know; the great majority of respondents expected their parents to disapprove, with females more likely than males to expect disapproval; cohabitants were more likely than noncohabitants to indicate a willingness to engage in a variety of nontraditional living styles; persons who had cohabited intended to marry at about the same rate as those who had not, but at a somewhat older age and desired fewer children. There did not appear to be any important regional differences with regard to the above findings.