Older Adults’ Attitudes Toward Cohabitation: Two Decades of Change

Susan L. Brown · Matthew R. Wright

31 citations0/0 files storedThe Journals of Gerontology Series B

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Family Dynamics and Relationships Marriage and Family Dynamics Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Our study tracks cohort change in the attitudes of adults aged 50 and older toward cohabitation from 1994 to 2012. METHOD: We used data from the 1994, 2002, and 2012 waves of the General Social Survey to examine the roles of cohort replacement and intracohort change in the trend toward favorable cohabitation attitudes and to examine sociodemographic variation in patterns of support for cohabitation. RESULTS: Support for cohabitation accelerated over time with nearly half (46%) of older adults reporting favorable attitudes toward cohabitation in 2012 versus just 20% in 1994. This shift in older adults' attitudes largely reflected cohort replacement rather than intracohort change. Some of the factors associated with later life cohabitation experience were linked to supportive attitudes. DISCUSSION: Cohort succession is fueling the growing acceptance of cohabitation among older adults and coincides with the rapid growth in later life cohabitation that has occurred in recent decades.

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References

1965The Cohort as a Concept in the Study of Social Change 1985The Cohort as a Concept in the Study of Social Change 2001Four Decades of Trends in Attitudes Toward Family Issues in the United States: The 1960s Through the 1990s 2010Demographic Trends in the United States: A Review of Research in the 2000s 2000Cohabitation in the United States: An Appraisal of Research Themes, Findings, and Implications 2012The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults, 1990-2010 2000Families Formed Outside of Marriage 2007Generations, Cohorts, and Social Change

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2019Divorce Attitudes Among Older Adults: Two Decades of Change 2019Relationship Quality Among Older Cohabitors: A Comparison to Remarrieds 2022Continuity and Change in U.S. Children's Family Composition, 1968–2017

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