Marriage and Dissolution Among Women’s Cohabitations: Variations by Stepfamily Status and Shared Childbearing

Abstract

Cohabiting unions increasingly involve children, either born during the union and/or from prior relationships (i.e., stepchildren). Drawing from arguments about the institutionalization of cohabitation and stepfamilies as well as the family systems perspective, this article examines dissolution and marriage risks among women’s cohabiting unions by stepfamily status, configuration (which partner has children), and shared intended and unintended fertility using the 2006-2013 National Survey of Family Growth. A minority (32%) of first cohabitations, but the majority of second (65%), and third (75%) cohabitations, are stepfamilies. Stepfamily cohabitations are less likely to transition to marriage compared with nonstepfamily unions, especially among complex stepfamilies (both partners have children), but neither stepfamily status nor configuration affect dissolution. Shared intended and unintended births are associated with dissolution and marriage risks but largely only for nonstepfamily cohabitations, suggesting that shared childbearing is only indicative of the institutionalization for cohabitations that are not stepfamilies.

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