1. COHABITATION IN TODAY’S
SOCIETY
By Lori Strizak

2. Overview
 What is cohabitation?
 Current trends
 Types of cohabitation
 Who cohabits?
 Pros and cons to cohabiting
 Does it lead to better marriages?
 What effects does it have on children?

3. Cohabitation… what is it?
 Cohabitation occurs when two
unrelated people, who are also not
married, are in a sexual relationship
and living together, (Benokraitis, 2011).
 The U.S. Census Bureau calls these
individuals, POSSLQs, (person’s of the
opposite sex sharing living quarters),
but this can also pertain to individuals
in same sex relationships who live
together.

4. Growth and attitudes
 Cohabitation is continually rising.
 Reasons for why the numbers still
might be too low: common-law
marriages, couples don’t disclose the
information, the U.S. Census Bureau
doesn’t tabulate unmarried couples in
one home, and etc.
 Increased acceptance among people
 Reasons people disapprove: religious
views, morals, belief it had a negative
impact on children, and etc.

5. Types of Cohabitation
 Dating cohabitation: Couple who
spends a lot of time together, decides to
move in together.
 Premarital cohabitation: Couples testing
the relationship before they jump into
getting married; can be engaged.
 Trial marriage: Less sure about
relationship than a couple participating in
premarital cohabitation.
 Substitute marriage: Two people who
don’t plan to marry, but make the long
term commitment to move in together.

6. Who cohabits?
 20% are 24 years old or younger,
(Benokraitis, 2011)
 56% between 25-44 years old, (Benokraitis,
2011)
 Women are more likely to cohabit if their
mothers did
 Also, women are less likely to cohabit if their
mother’s have a college degree.
 Highest cohabitation rates are among
American Indians/Native Alaskans and
African Americans, (Benokraitis, 2011).
 Religion and social class also affect who
cohabits.

7. Pros
 Emotional security
 Independence
 Can get out of relationship easier, without
legal issues
 By holding off on marriage, the older in age
one is, the less likely of a divorce. Age is a
predictor of a stable marriage, (Benokraitis,
2011).
 Some children of low economic statuses
benefit more
 Don’t deal with the stress of the other’s family
(in-laws)
 Learn to deal with partner’s faults

8. Cons
 Feel trapped or isolated from friends
 Weaker commitment to the
relationship
 Not as happy or satisfied in
relationship
 Less likely to be faithful
 Show more negative and controlling
behaviors after marriage
 No U.S. laws about the responsibilities
of cohabitants

9. Does it lead to better
marriages?
 Surprisingly, NO
 Higher divorce rates if cohabitation
occurred before marriage,
(Benokraitis, 2011).
 Three effects that could explain the
reason: selection effect, cohabitation
effect, and the inertia effect.

10. The Selection Effect
 People who cohabit, (usually before
marriage), have different
characteristics than those who don’t
cohabit before marriage.
 Due to individual problems of the
people in the relationship, people are
less likely to work on the relationship,
communicate efficiently, or
compromise during arguments.

11. The Cohabitation effect
 Cohabitants get used to independence
 Not as willing to compromise, due to
being used to getting there own way.
 Leads to instability, and the likelihood
of divorce

12. Applying the concept
 In a 2009 article published in the Journal of
Family Psychology, 1,050 men and women
were given a random telephone survey
asking about cohabitation practices and
certain qualities about their marriages.
 Only those aged 18-34, that have been
married for 10 years or less were used.
 All different races and ethnicities were used.
 “We found evidence that cohabiting before
engagement, even only with one’s future
spouse, is associated with lower marital
quality and higher divorce potential,”
(Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2009).

13. The Inertia Effect
 When a couple moves in together,
occasionally they make certain
decisions that would make it harder to
leave the relationship
 I.e. Getting a pet, sharing finances,
having children, etc.
 After making these decisions, they
decide that they should just go ahead
and get married.

14. What Does This Do To
Children?
 Children often endure the cohabitant’s
breakup, or deal with the parent’s
“serial cohabitation”, (living with
multiple partners throughout their
childhood).
 They are more likely to be poor, due to
cohabitant’s breaking up, hence
suffering from more emotional,
behavioral and academies issues,

15. Did you know?
 In some states, such as North
Carolina, North Dakota, West Virginia,
Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, and
Virginia, cohabitation is prohibited!

16. Summary
 Cohabitation is when two people, that are
unrelated and not married live together, and
currently are in a sexual relationship.
 Cohabitation is continuing to grow and is
becoming a more accepted practice.
 There are four different types of cohabitation:
dating, premarital, trial marriage and
substitute marriage.
 Most of cohabitants are under the age of 44
 Women are more likely to cohabit if their
mother’s did
 Social class and religion also affect
cohabitation rates.

17. Summary Cont.
 There are pros and cons to cohabitation
 Cohabitation before marriage DOES NOT
mean that marriages will be better, and
generally these cohabitants have higher
divorce rates.
 Selection Effect, Cohabitation Effect, and
Inertia Effect are possible theories for why it
doesn’t lead to a better marriage.
 Sometimes, cohabitations creates an
unstable environment to raise a child in, and
the child is more at risk of emotional,
behavioral, or academic issues if he or she
witnesses serial cohabitation or the breaking
up of cohabitants.

18. References
 Benokraitis, N.V. (2011). Marriages &
families: Changes, choices, and
constraints. (7th ed.) Boston,
Massachusetts: Pearson
Education, Inc.
 Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., &
Markman, H. J. (2009). The pre-
engagement cohabitation effect:
A replication and extension of
previous findings. Journal of
Family Psychology, 23 (1), 107-11.