Skip to main content

The relative stability of cohabiting and marital unions for children

Population Research and Policy Review volume 23, pages 135–159 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Children are increasingly born into cohabiting parent families, but we know little to date about the implications of this family pattern for children's lives. We examine whether children born into premarital cohabitation and first marriages experience similar rates of parental disruption, and whether marriage among cohabiting parents enhances union stability. These issues are important because past research has linked instability in family structure with lower levels of child well-being. Drawing on the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, we find that white, black and Hispanic children born to cohabiting parents experience greater levels of instability than children born to married parents. Moreover, black and Hispanic children whose cohabiting parents marry do not experience the same levels of family stability as those born to married parents; among white children, however, the marriage of cohabiting parents raises levels of family stability to that experienced by children born in marriage. The findings from this paper contribute to the debate about the benefits of marriage for children.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • Acs, G. & Nelson, S. (2001), Honey, I'm home. Changes in living arrangements in the late 1990's, New Federalism National Survey of America's Families B-38, Washington DC: Urban Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. (1984), Event history analysis: Regression for longitudinal event data, Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. (1995), Survival analysis using the SAS system: A practical guide, Cary, NC: SAS Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astone, N., Schoen, R., Ensminger, M. & Rothert, K. (1999), The family life course of African American men. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, NY.

  • Axinn, W. & Thornton, A. (1992), The relationship between cohabitation and divorce: Selectivity or causal influence? Demography 29: 357–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bean, F. & Tienda, M. (1987), The Hispanic population of the United States, New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, N., Blanc, A. & Bloom, D. (1988), Commitment and the modern union: Assessing the link between premarital cohabitation and subsequent marital instability, American Sociological Review 53: 127–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth, A. & Johnson, D. (1988), Premarital cohabitation and marital success, Journal of Family Issues 9: 255–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bramlett, M. & Mosher, W. (2002), Cohabitation, marriage and divorce and remarriage in the United States, National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Statistics 23(22)

  • Brown, S. (2000a), The effect of union type of psychological well-being: Depression among cohabitors versus marrieds, Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41: 241–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. (2000b), Union transitions among cohabitors: The significance of relationship assessments and expectations, Journal of Marriage and the Family 62: 833–846.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. & Booth, A. (1996), Cohabitation versus marriage: A comparison of relationship quality, Journal of Marriage and the Family 58: 668–678.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bumpass, L. (1998), The changing significance of marriage in the United States, pp. 63–70, in K.O. Mason, N. Nilsuya & M. Choe (eds.), The changing family in comparative perspective: Asia and the United States, Honolulu: EastWest Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bumpass, L. & Lu, H. (2000), Trends in cohabitation and implications for children's family contexts, Population Studies 54: 29–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bumpass, L. & Sweet, J. (1989), National estimates of cohabitation, Demography 26: 615–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bumpass, L., Raley, R. & Sweet, J. (1995), The changing character of stepfamilies: Implications of cohabitation and nonmarital childbearing, Demography 32: 425–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casper, L. & Bianchi, S. (2002), Continuity and change in the American family, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarkberg, M. (1999), The price of partnering: The role of economic well-being in young adults' first union experiences, Social Forces 77: 945–968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P. (1999), Racial-ethnic and gender differences in returns to cohabitation and marriage: Evidence from the current population survey. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of American. Washington, DC.

  • Del Pinel, J. &. Singer, A. (1997), Generations of diversity: Latinos in the United States, Population Bulletin 52,No. 3.

  • DeMaris, A. (2002), Regression models, pp. 255–288, in M. Wiederman & B. Whitley (eds.), Handbook for conducting research on human sexuality, Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbum.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMaris, A. & MacDonald, W. (1993), Premarital cohabitation and marital instability: A test of the unconventionality hypothesis, Journal of Marriage and the Family 55: 399–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMaris, A. & Rao, K. (1992), Premarital cohabitation and subsequent marital stability in the United States: A reassessment, Journal of Marriage and the Family 54: 178–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durst, R. (1997), Ties that bind: Drafting enforceable cohabitation agreements, New Jersey Law Journal 147, S13–S14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fields, J. (2001), Living arrangements of children, Current Population Reports P70-74. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fields, J. & Casper, L. (2002), America's families and living arrangements: March 2000, Current Population Reports P20-537. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graefe, D. & Lichter, D. (1999), Life course transitions of American children: Parental cohabitation, marriage and single motherhood, Demography 36: 205–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hao, L. (1996), Family structure, private transfers, and the economic well-being of families with children, Social Forces 75: 269–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landale, N. & Fennelly, K. (1992), Informal unions among mainland Puerto Ricans: Cohabitation or an alternative to legal marriage? Journal of Marriage and the Family 54: 269–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landale, N. & Hauan, S. (1992), The family life course of Puerto Rican children, Journal of Marriage and the Family 54: 912–924.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, D. & Landale, N. (1995), Parental employment, family structure, and poverty among Latino children, Journal of Marriage and the Family 57: 346–361.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, D., McLaughlin, C., Kephart, G. & Landry, D. (1992), Race and the retreat from marriage: A shortage of marriageable men? American Sociological Review 57: 781–799.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, L., Brien, M. & Waite, L. (1995), Premarital cohabitation and subsequent marital dissolution: A matter of self-selection? Demography 32: 437–457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loomis, L. & Landale, N. (1994), Nonmarital cohabitation and childbearing among black and white American women, Journal of Marriage and the Family 56: 949–962.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLanahan, S. & Carlson, M. (2002), Welfare reform, fertility, and father involvement, Future of Children 12: 147–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLanahan, S. & Casper, L. (1995), Growing diversity and inequality in the American family, pp. 1–45, in R. Farley (ed.), State of the Union: America in the 1990s, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLanahan, S. & Sandefur, G. (1994), Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, W. (2001), Childbearing in cohabiting unions: Racial and ethnic differences, Family Planning Perspectives 33: 217–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, W. (2002), The implications of cohabitation for children's well-being, pp. 121–152, in A. Booth & A. C. Crouter (eds.), Just living together: Implications for children, families, and public policy, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, W. & Brown, S. (2003), Children's economic well-being in cohabiting parent families: An update and extension. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Minneapolis, MN.

  • Manning, W. & Lichter, D. (1996), Parental cohabitation and children's economic well-being, Journal of Marriage and the Family 58: 998–1010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, W. & Smock, P. (1995), Why marry? Race and the transition to marriage among cohabitors, Demography 32: 509–520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, W. & Smock, P. (2002), First comes cohabitation and then comes marriage, Journal of Family Issues 23: 1065–1087.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcil-Gratton, N., Le Bourdais, C. & Lapierre-Adamcyk, E. (2000), The implications of parents' conjugal histories for children, Canadian Journal of Policy Research 1: 32–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mare, R. & Winship, C. (1991), Socioeconomic change and the decline of marriage for blacks and whites, pp. 175–202, in C. Jencks & P. E Peterson (eds.), The urban underclass, Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, D. R. & Ritualo, A. (2000), Routes to children's economic recovery after divorce: Are maternal cohabitation and remarriage equivalent? American Sociological Review 65: 560–580.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musick, K. (2002), Planned and unplanned childbearing among unmarried women, Journal of Marriage and Family 64: 915–930.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nock, S. (1995), A comparison of marriages and cohabiting relationships, Journal of Family Issues 16: 53–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, V. (1994), Women's rising employment and the future of the family in industrial societies, Population and Development Review 20: 293–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oropesa, R. (1996), Normative beliefs about marriage and cohabitation: A comparison of non-Latino whites, Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans, Journal of Marriage and the Family 58: 49–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oropesa, R., Lichter, D. & Anderson, R. (1994), Marriage markets and the paradox of Mexican American nuptiality, Journal of Marriage and the Family 56: 889–907.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raley, R. (1996), A shortage of marriageable men? A note on the role of cohabitation in black-white differences in marriage rates, American Sociological Review 61: 973–983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raley, R. (2001), Increasing fertility in cohabiting unions: Evidence for the second demographic transition in the United States? Demography 38: 59–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raley, R. & Wildsmith, E.M. (2001), Cohabitation and children's family instability. Population research center working paper 01-02-06. University of Texas.

  • Schoen, R. (1992), First unions and the stability of first marriages, Journal of Marriage and the Family 54: 281–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seff, M. (1995), Cohabitation and the law, Marriage and Family Review 21: 141–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seltzer, J. (1994), Consequences of marital dissolution for children, Annual Review of Sociology 20: 235–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. (2000), Cohabitation in the United States, Annual Review of Sociology 26: 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. & Gupta, S. (2002), What is the role of cohabitation in contemporary North American family structure?, pp. 53–84, in A. Booth & A. Crouter (eds.), Just living together: Implications of cohabitation on families, children, and social policy, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. & Manning, W. (1997), Cohabiting partners' economic circumstances and marriage, Demography 34: 331–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P., Manning, W. & Gupta, S. (1999), The effect of marriage and divorce on women's economic well-being, American Sociological Review 64: 794–812.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, S. (2002), The effects of stepchildren on childbearing intentions and births, Demography 39: 181–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Teachman, J. & Polonko, K. (1990), Cohabitation and marital stability in the United States, Social Forces 69: 207–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teachman, J., Thomas, J. & Paasch, K. (1991), Legal status and stability of coresidential unions, Demography 28: 571–586.

    Google Scholar 

  • Testa, M., Astone, N., Krogh, M. & Neckerman, K. (1989), Employment and marriage among inner-city fathers, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 501: 79–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, E. & Collela, U. (1992), Cohabitation and marital stability: Quality or commitment? Journal of Marriage and the Family 54: 259–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, E. & Li, J. (2002), Her, his and their children: Childbearing intentions and births in stepfamilies, National Survey of Families and Households Working Paper 89, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

  • Thornton, A., Axinn, W. & Teachman, J. (1995), The influence of school enrollment and accumulation on cohabitation and marriage in early adulthood, American Sociological Review 60: 762–774.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L. (1995), Does marriage matter? Demography 32: 483–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L. & Gallagher, M. (2000), The case for marriage, New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L. & Joyner, K. (2001), Emotional and physical satisfaction in married, cohabiting, and dating sexual unions: Do men and women differ?, pp. 239–274, in E. Laumann & R. Michael (eds.), Sex, love, and health in America: Private choices and public policies, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waller, M. (1999), Meanings and motives in new family stories: The separation of reproduction and marriage among low-income black and white parents, pp. 182–218, in M. Lamont (ed.), The cultural territories of race: Black and white boundaries, New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiesensale, S. & Heckart, K. (1993), Domestic partnerships: A concept paper and policy discussion, Family Relations 42: 199–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, L. (1996), Effects of family instability, income, and income instability on the risk of premarital birth, American Sociological Review 61: 386–406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, L. & Martinson, B. (1993), Family structure and the risk of a premarital birth, American Sociological Review 58: 210–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, L. & Musick, K. (2002), Stability of marital and cohabiting unions following a first birth. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Atlanta.

  • Wu, L., Bumpass, L. & Musick, K. (2001), Historical and life course trajectories of nonmarital childbearing, pp. 3–48, in L. Wu & B. Wolfe (eds.), Out of wedlock: Causes and consequences of nonmarital fertility, New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology & Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA

    Wendy D. Manning

  2. Department of Sociology & Population Studies Center, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Pamela J. Smock

  3. Department of Sociology, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA

    Debarun Majumdar

Authors
  1. Wendy D. Manning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pamela J. Smock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Debarun Majumdar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Manning, W.D., Smock, P.J. & Majumdar, D. The relative stability of cohabiting and marital unions for children. Population Research and Policy Review 23, 135–159 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:POPU.0000019916.29156.a7

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:POPU.0000019916.29156.a7

  • Children
  • Cohabitation
  • Divorce
  • Family structure
  • Marriage
  • Race and ethnicity