Cohabitation Dissolution Research Articles

Living in precarious partnerships: Understanding how young men’s and women’s economic precariousness contribute to outcomes of first cohabitation

In the UK, cohabitation has become the normative type of first co-residential partnership. While some couples go on to marry, others increasingly continue to cohabit or break up. One possible explanation is the rise in young people’s economic precariousness. However, few studies have analysed this hypothesis empirically for the UK. By analysing data on cohabiting couple dyads from 1991 to 2019, we explore how economic precariousness (measured by four traits: employment, labour income, savings, and financial perceptions) relates to marriage and to cohabitation dissolution. The types of precarious traits seen in couples, alongside their distribution between partners, are crucial for understanding socio-economic differences in cohabitation outcomes. Marriage is less likely among couples where the man is jobless or has no savings, suggesting that marriage is a financially committed relationship, more reliant on men’s resources. Couples where women hold worse financial perceptions than men are most likely to separate, highlighting the importance of subjective measures.

Comparing marriage and cohabitation dissolution risks across municipalities: Which characteristics matter?

AbstractResearch has shown considerable municipal‐level variation in divorce rates within countries. Given the large increase in cohabitation over the past decades, this study examines whether similar differences can also be observed in the union dissolution risks of cohabitants. By investigating whether six municipal‐level factors important in understanding spatial variation in divorce are also associated with spatial variation in the dissolution of cohabiting unions (financial uncertainty, gender roles, religiosity, social ties, alternative opportunities and educational attainment), this article aims to improve our understanding of municipal differences in the dissolution of cohabiting unions. This study is conducted on register data from Statistics Netherlands (2017–2018). For this study, unique union dissolution information per union type (marriage and cohabitation) is constructed for 355 Dutch municipalities. Nearly all explanatory factors are defined using publicly available municipal‐level information. We use spatial lag regression models to analyse differences in municipal union dissolution risks for different union types. We find that municipal‐level union dissolution risks of cohabiting and married couples are only moderately correlated, suggesting that the risk of union dissolution for cohabiting couples is not necessary high in municipalities with high divorce rates. Municipal‐level indicators of social ties, religiosity and alternative opportunities are linked to municipal‐level variation in union dissolution risks of married and cohabiting couples, whereas municipal‐level variation in financial uncertainty and educational attainment are only linked to municipal‐level variation in union dissolution risks of married couples.

Cohabitation dissolution and psychological distress among young adults: The role of parenthood and gender

Cohabitation dissolution and psychological distress among young adults: The role of parenthood and gender

Gender and Changes in Household Wealth after the Dissolution of Marriage and Cohabitation in Germany

AbstractObjectiveTo document how changes in household wealth following the dissolution of marriage and cohabitation differ by gender in Germany.BackgroundMarital property regimes usually prescribe that both partners receive a share of the couple's wealth following a divorce. The dissolution of cohabiting unions is not governed by marital property regimes in most countries, including Germany. Because men, on average, legally own a larger share of couple wealth than women, gender differences in household wealth might be more pronounced following the dissolution of cohabitation as compared to marriage.MethodThe analysis consists of individual fixed effects regression models using longitudinal data from the German socio‐economic panel (N = 18,131 individuals) for the years 2002 to 2017.ResultsThe dissolution of marriage is negatively related to the accumulation of wealth over time and effect sizes are similar for men and women. The dissolution of cohabiting unions is related to losses in wealth for women but not for men. Models accounting for various postdissolution factors suggest that an unequal division of household wealth produces these gender differences after the dissolution of cohabitation.ConclusionWhereas the dissolution of marriage lowers household wealth for men and women alike, there are gender differences in how the dissolution of cohabiting unions affects the accumulation of wealth. Union dissolution therefore has the potential to contribute to gender inequality in household wealth.

Children’s Living Arrangements after Marital and Cohabitation Dissolution in Europe

The rapid increase of the number of children being born in cohabitation appears to have an important impact on their lives, since they face a higher risk of parental breakup than children born in wedlock. This article aims to provide a cross-national overview of the living arrangements of children following breakup of cohabiting unions and to investigate whether the post-dissolution living arrangements differ between formerly cohabiting and married families. Analyzing the first wave of Generations and Gender Survey for 9 European countries shows that former cohabiters are not more or less likely to establish shared physical custody of their children than formerly married couples; however, formerly cohabiting fathers are somehow less likely to have sole custody of their children. The lower odds of sole-father custody among former cohabiters are caused by the selection of individuals into cohabiting unions (i.e., different demographic characteristics of cohabiting parents and union duration).

Pathways linking early socioeconomic adversity to diverging profiles of romantic relationship dissolution in young adulthood.

Although studies on romantic relationships are abundant, cumulative experiences in intimate relationship dissolution (i.e., dissolution of cohabitation and marriage) during young adulthood is not yet completely understood. Using a nationally representative sample of 9,275 young adults, we investigated heterogeneity in timing and frequency of relationship dissolution during young adulthood, as well as its developmental precursors to dissolution. Results indicated four distinct relationship-dissolution classes that ranged from those who maintained stable romantic relationships to those who experienced multiple cohabitation dissolutions and divorces from ages 18 to 30 years. Early socioeconomic adversity predicted relationship-dissolution trajectories directly and indirectly through psychosociodemographic mechanisms in adolescence, including disrupted transitions to adulthood, conflict in dating relationships, and low levels of future orientation. Our findings highlight the heterogeneous romantic relationship trajectories of young adults and support the importance of the person-centered approach in elucidating developmental pathways underlying the longitudinal transitions in romantic relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The intergenerational transmission of partnering.

As divorce and cohabitation dissolution in the US have increased, partnering has expanded to the point that sociologists describe a merry-go-round of partners in American families. Could one driver of the increase in the number of partners be an intergenerational transmission of partnering? We discuss three theoretical perspectives on potential mechanisms that would underlie an intergenerational transmission of partnering: the transmission of economic hardship, the transmission of marriageable characteristics and relationship skills, and the transmission of relationship commitment. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child and Young Adult study (NLSY79 CYA) and their mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), we examined the intergenerational transmission of partnering, including both marital and cohabitating unions, using prospective measures of family and economic instability as well as exploiting sibling data to try to identify potential mechanisms. Even after controlling for maternal demographic characteristics and socioeconomic factors, the number of maternal partners was positively associated with offspring’s number of partners. Hybrid sibling Poisson regression models that examined sibling differential experiences of maternal partners indicated that there were no differences between siblings who witnessed more or fewer maternal partners. Overall, results suggested that the transmission of poor marriageable characteristics and relationship skills from mother to child may warrant additional attention as a potential mechanism through which the number of partners continues across generations.

Involving Nonresident Lithuanian Fathers in Child-rearing

Using nationally representative data on nonresident fathers, this study examines father–child contact and child support payments in Lithuania. We focus on previously married and cohabiting fathers whose parenting rights and obligations are organized differently by Lithuanian legislation. Our findings demonstrate that previously cohabiting fathers’ involvement in child-rearing is more significantly associated with levels of individual income resources rather than family formation type. We argue that legal uncertainties linked to nonmarital fatherhood reinforce the inequalities of men’s paternal rights and place previously cohabiting fathers, particularly with low socioeconomic resources, in disadvantaged positions. Moreover, we argue based on international evidence that universal social policies to support fathers’ social citizenship rights before separation and across household or family types, including greater individualization of Lithuania’s generous parental leave provisions, would encourage father–child contact for low socioeconomic fathers following cohabitation dissolution and reduce traditional male-breadwinning barriers to father–child contact.

Are there gender differences in family trajectories by education in Finland?

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that in some countries socioeconomic differences in family formation are highly gendered, whereas gender-neutral patterns are reported in other countries. Most previous studies focus on single events and therefore it is unclear how the gender differences and neutralities in family transitions combine into variation in longer family-formation trajectories. Objective: We explore how family trajectories vary by educational attainment and gender. The research asks whether there are gender differences in family trajectories by education. We focus on the trajectories of women and men in Finland between the ages of 18 and 39, and on the 1969 and 1970 birth cohorts. The trajectories consist of states entered via the formation and dissolution of cohabitation and marriage and the birth of the first child. Methods: We give a sequence representation of Finnish register data comprising monthly histories of union dynamics and childbearing. We focus on the number and order of family states. Results: We find notable differences in family trajectories by educational attainment; however, the gender differences in the trajectories within educational groups are negligible. For instance, the proportion of never-partnered and childless at age 39 is largest among those with low education, regardless of gender. Further, at age 39, highly educated women and men are most likely to live in the same union in which they became first-time parents. Contribution: This study adds to previous literature by showing that in an egalitarian Nordic welfare state, longitudinal family-formation trajectories are highly stratified by education but remarkably gender-neutral. Language: en

Trends in the economic consequences of marital and cohabitation dissolution in the United States.

Mothers in the United States use a combination of employment, public transfers, and private safety nets to cushion the economic losses of romantic union dissolution, but changes in maternal labor force participation, government transfer programs, and private social networks may have altered the economic impact of union dissolution over time. Using nationally representative panels from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) from 1984 to 2007, we show that the economic consequences of divorce have declined since the 1980s owing to the growth in married women's earnings and their receipt of child support and income from personal networks. In contrast, the economic consequences of cohabitation dissolution were modest in the 1980s but have worsened over time. Cohabiting mothers' income losses associated with union dissolution now closely resemble those of divorced mothers. These trends imply that changes in marital stability have not contributed to rising income instability among families with children, but trends in the extent and economic costs of cohabitation have likely contributed to rising income instability for less-advantaged children.

Indicators of Adolescent Depression and Relationship Progression in Emerging Adulthood

Adolescent depression may be associated with future relationship problems that have long-term consequences given the developmental importance and health benefits of forming committed unions in emerging adulthood. The authors examined associations between emotional and behavioral indicators of adolescent depression (depressive symptoms, alcohol problems, and suicidal ideation) and romantic relationship and union formation and dissolution in emerging adulthood (n = 14,146) using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Adolescent alcohol problems were associated with more romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. Emerging adults with depressive symptoms or alcohol problems in adolescence were significantly more likely to enter into a cohabiting union, and those with adolescent alcohol problems were less likely to marry. Cohabiting emerging adults with a history of adolescent depressive symptoms were less likely to marry, whereas suicidal ideation was associated with a decreased likelihood of cohabitation dissolution. Implications for future research are discussed.

Cohabitation, civil partnership, marriage and the equal sharing principle

This paper explores certain questions regarding whether the law concerning relief upon the dissolution of civil partnership and cohabitation should parallel that of marriage. It will be contended that while the principle of compensation does have an important role to play in the aftermath of de facto relationships, there remain reasons not to assimilate cohabitation fully with marriage – and in particular, not to apply the key principle of equal sharing that now informs divorce settlements in many jurisdictions, including England. On the other hand, an argument against assimilating marriage with civil partnership can be grounded in the fact that a civil partnership involves two parties of the same gender. This point generates room to argue that a presumption of equal sharing – to the extent that it rests upon compensatory rationales – may be less powerful in civil partnerships. Nonetheless, that claim can be circumnavigated by the argument for equal sharing as an independent principle – one applicable to civil partnership just as much as to marriage.

Marital and Cohabitation Dissolution and Parental Depressive Symptoms in Fragile Families.

The consequences of divorce are pronounced for parents of young children, and cohabitation dissolution is increasing in this population and has important implications. The mental health consequences of union dissolution were examined, by union type and parental gender, using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 1,998 for mothers and 1,764 for fathers). Overall, cohabitation and marital dissolution were both associated with increased maternal and paternal depressive symptoms, though for married mothers, depressive symptoms returned to predissolution levels with time. Difference-in-difference estimates indicated no differences in the magnitude of the increase in depressive symptoms by type of dissolution, though pooled difference models suggested that married fathers increased in depressive symptoms more than cohabiting fathers. Potential time-variant mediators did not account for these associations, though greater family chaos was associated with increased maternal depressive symptoms, and decreased social support and father - child contact were associated with increased paternal depressive symptoms.

Effects of Divorce and Cohabitation Dissolution on Preschoolers’ Literacy

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey–Birth cohort ( N = 6,450), the present study hypothesized that 48-month-old children of divorced mothers would score lower on emerging literacy than the children of formerly cohabiting mothers, compared with the children of mothers in stable marriage. The children of mothers who divorced or exited cohabitation but then remained single did not have significantly lower literacy than children of mothers in stable marriage. The children of divorced parents who then cohabited with another man fared significantly more poorly on literacy tests than children of continuously married parents. The children in the divorce → cohabitation group also had significantly lower literacy than the children in the divorce → noncohabitation and cohabitation → noncohabitation groups. Mothers in consistent cohabiting relationships were also more likely than mothers in stable marriage to have children with low literacy. The association between stable cohabitation and child literacy was mediated by change in socioeconomic status.

Secularization, Union Formation Practices, and Marital Stability: Evidence from Italy

Descriptive statistics indicate that civil marriages and marriages preceded by premarital cohabitation are more unstable, i.e., more frequently followed by divorce. However, the literature has shown that selectivity plays an important role in the relationship between premarital cohabitation and union dissolution. We do not have evidence to date regarding the selectivity in the effect of civil marriage. The Italian case appears particularly interesting given the recent diffusion of premarital cohabitation and civil marriage. Using micro-level data from a national-level representative survey conducted in 2003, we develop a multiprocess model that allows unobserved heterogeneity to be correlated across the three decisions (premarital cohabitation, civil marriage, and divorce). Our results show that selectivity is the main factor that explains the higher divorce rates among those who experience premarital cohabitation and a civil marriage. Net of selectivity, the causal effect on union dissolution disappears.

Relationship-Specific Investments, Family Chaos, and Cohabitation Dissolution Following a Non-marital Birth.

Predictors of two types of cohabitation dissolution, dissolution with a continued romantic relationship and without (i.e. breakup), were examined using data from mothers cohabiting at the time of a non-marital birth in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 1624). Life tables indicated 64% of unions dissolved within 5 years; of these, 76% broke-up. Black mothers had the highest rates of dissolution. Maximum likelihood discrete-time event history results revealed that younger mothers were more likely to experience cohabitation dissolution into a breakup. Fewer relationship-specific investments and more family chaos were also associated with greater risk of cohabitation dissolution into a breakup. Mothers' multipartnered fertility and fewer relationship-specific investments were associated with greater risk of cohabitation dissolution with a continued romantic relationship. Post-dissolution, mothers who maintained a romantic relationship were more likely to reenter a union with their former partner while mothers whose union broke-up most often remained so.

I Wanted a Fresh Start from Where I Was: Rural Low-Income Women's Experiences of Multiple Partnership Transitions

Rates of union disruption between romantic partners--whether through divorce, separation, or dissolution of cohabitation--are substantially higher in the United States than other Western countries (Cherlin, 2008). It is estimated that approximately 25% of all American marriages end in divorce or separation within five years and more than half of cohabiting relationships are dissolved within five years (Cherlin, 2008). Yet, rates of re-partnering also are high, with more than half of the women who end their partnerships entering new relationships within four years (Andersson & Philipove, 2002). Partnership transition rates or instability, however, vary by social-class. Working or poor families are more likely to experience partnership transitions than their middle-class counterparts (Wells, 2005). Those with less education, particularly women, are the most vulnerable (Cherlin, 2010). Consequently, it is becoming increasingly common for low-income individuals to experience multiple partnership transitions during adulthood in the United States.To date, research examining partnership transition/instability has focused primarily on child outcomes or maternal parenting. In addition, the majority of studies conceptualize partnership instability as a discrete, singular event, such as divorce, separation, and dissolution of cohabitation, rather than a series of multiple transitions over time (Beck, Cooper, McLanahan, & Brooks-Gunn, 2010). Further, most previous studies have investigated urban, low-income populations, even though the greatest increase in cohabiting households with children in the last decade has occurred in rural areas (O'Hare, Manning, Porter, & Lyons, 2009). This study begins to fill in some of these knowledge gaps by focusing on rural, low-income mothers' experiences of and explanations for multiple partnership transitions.The higher rate of family instability among low-income households compared to other social classes has become a national concern as it is associated with a decrease in family finances, increase in welfare dependency, and higher likelihood of negative developmental outcomes for children. A substantial body of literature indicates that as children are exposed to multiple changes in family structure, they experience less positive developmental outcomes (Osborne & McLanahan, 2007; Sun & Yuanzhang, 2008). Negative outcomes include behavioral problems, delinquency, and teenage pregnancy (Cavanagh & Huston, 2006; Fomby & Cherlin, 2008; Wu & Thomson, 2001). Osborne and McLanahan (2007) reported that each partnership transition modestly increased the likelihood of a child exhibiting behavioral problems. Even one partnership transition, such as a separation, introduces multiple stressors into family life, which could include changes in family rules and routines, reassignment of household roles and responsibilities, challenges in meeting the emotional needs of family members, and readjustment of family finances. In the case of partnership dissolution, mothers and children tend to experience substantial declines in their financial and social resources (Bradbury & Katz, 2002). Additionally, mothers often report more psychological distress following, rather than preceding, partnership transitions (Crnic, Gaze, & Hoffman, 2005), and these transitions often lead to high levels of mental distress (Blekesaune, 2008).Despite the negative financial, emotional, and psychological outcomes that follow family transitions, recent evidence reveals that multiple partnership transitions over short periods of time are increasing (Burton, Cherlin, Winn, Estacion, & Holder-Taylor, 2009; Cherlin, 2010; Sassler, 2010). Burton et al. (2009) investigated the role of trust/distrust in low-income mothers' partnership formations and claimed that mothers who rapidly enter romantic relationships are less likely to collect information about their partners' trustworthiness than those who enter relationships gradually. …

The Child Health Disadvantage of Parental Cohabitation

This study uses Fragile Families data (N = 2,160) to assess health differences at age 5 for children born to cohabiting versus married parents. Regression analyses indicate worse health for children born to cohabiting parents, including those whose parents stably cohabited, dissolved their cohabitation, and married, than for children with stably married parents. The findings also suggest that stable cohabitation is no better for child health than cohabitation dissolution. Child health is better among those whose cohabiting parents marry than for those whose parents remain stably cohabiting, which indicates a possible health advantage of parental marriage, even if it occurs after the child's birth.

Family Structure and Children's Psychosocial Outcomes

This article examines the influence of family structure on children's short-term psychosocial behavioral outcomes, including emotional disorder, conduct disorder, and prosocial behavior. The analysis uses five waves of data (1994-2003) from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to model how living in a cohabitational household (two biological parents) and how experiencing cohabitation dissolution influence children's behaviors, comparing these effects to outcomes observed in children from married biological-parent households. The findings indicate that growing up in a married biological-parent household does not offer a clear advantage. Most differences in behavioral problems across family structure associate with household demographics, low-income status, family dysfunction, and parental nurturance. As such, this study contributes two important findings. First, the results do not support the hypothesis that nonmarital cohabitation represents an undesirable child-rearing environment. Second, cohabitation dissolution has a nonsignificant effect on children's behaviors, which is surprising considering that divorce has a well-established harmful effect.

Income dynamics in couples and the dissolution of marriage and cohabitation

Several studies have shown that a wife's strong (socio)economic position is associated with an increase in the risk of divorce. Less is known about such effects for cohabiting relationships. Using a unique and large-scale sample of administrative records from The Netherlands, we analyze the link between couples' income dynamics and union dissolution for married and cohabiting unions over a 10-year period. We find negative effects of household income on separation and positive effects of the woman's relative income, in line with earlier studies. The shape of the effect of the woman's relative income, however, depends on the type of union. Movements away from income equality toward a male-dominant pattern tend to increase the dissolution risk for cohabiting couples, whereas they reduce the dissolution risk for married couples. Movements away from income equality toward a female-dominant pattern (reverse specialization) increase the dissolution risks for both marriage and cohabitation. The findings suggest that equality is more protective for cohabitation, whereas specialization is more protective for marriage, although only when it fits a traditional pattern. Finally, we find that the stabilizing effects of income equality are more pronounced early in the marriage and that income equality also reduces the dissolution risk for same-sex couples.