![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Emerging adults are increasingly cohabiting, but few studies have considered the role of social context in the formation of their views of cohabitation. Drawing on 40 semistructured interviews with dating couples, we explored the role of romantic partners, family, and peers on evaluations of cohabitation. In couples where each member had a differing view about cohabitation, one romantic partner’s desire to not cohabit trumped their partner’s more ambivalent feelings about cohabitation.The influence of family in the formation of cohabitation views was evident through a variety of mechanisms, including parental advice, social modeling, religious values, and economic control. Peers also played a key role, with couples using the vicarious trials of their peer networks to judge how cohabitation would affect their own relationship. By using a couple perspective, assessing reports from both members of each couple, this study showcases how beliefs about cohabitation are formed within an intimate dyad.
Keywords cohabitation, emerging adulthood, dating, peers, parents, family
|
Ainsworth, M. ( 1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44, 709-716. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Amato, P. ( 1996). Explaining the intergenerational transmission of divorce . Journal of Marriage and Family, 58, 628-640. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Anderson, E. ( 1990). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city. New York: W.W Norton & Company. Google Scholar | |
|
Arnett, J. ( 2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469-480. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Arnett, J. ( 2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Arnett, J. ( 2007). Socialization in emerging adulthood: From the family to the wider world, from socialization to self-socialization. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 208-232). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Axinn, W.G. , & Thornton, A. ( 1992). The relationship between cohabitation and divorce: Selectivity or causal influence? Demography, 29, 357-374. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Axinn, W.G. , & Thornton, A. ( 1993). Mothers, children, and cohabitation: The intergenerational effects of attitudes and behavior. American Sociological Review , 58, 233-246. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Bandura, A. ( 1976). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Google Scholar | |
|
Billari, F. , & Rosina, A. ( 2005). ‘Mamma’ and the diffusion of cohabitation: The Italian case. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Population Association of America, April, Philadelphia, PA. Google Scholar | |
|
Brines, J. , & Joyner, K. ( 1999). The tie that binds: Principles of cohesion in cohabitation and marriage (in social integration). American Sociological Review, 64, 333-355. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Brown, B. ( 1999). Adolescents’ relationships with peers. In L. Steinberg (Ed.), The handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 363-394). New York: John Wiley and Sons. Google Scholar | |
|
Brown, S. ( 2000). Union transition among cohabitors: The significance of relationship assessments and expectations. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 833-846. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Bumpass, L. , & Lu, H. ( 2000). Trends in cohabitation and implications for children’s family contexts. Population Studies, 54, 29-41. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Bumpass, L. , Sweet, J. , & Cherlin, A. ( 1991). The role of cohabitation in declining rates of marriage . Journal of Marriage and Family, 53, 913-927. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Carlson, M. , McLanahan, S. , & England, P. ( 2004). Union formation in fragile families. Demography, 41, 237-261. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Cavanagh, S. ( 2007). The social construction of romantic relationships in adolescence: Examining the role of peer networks, gender, and race. Sociological Inquiry, 77, 572-600. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Chandra A. , Martinez, G. , Mosher, W. , Abma, J. , & Jones, J. ( 2005). Fertility, family planning, and reproductive health of U.S. Women: Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 23(25). Google Scholar | |
|
Charmaz, K. ( 2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis (introducing qualitative methods series). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Cherlin, A. ( 2004). The deinstitutionalization of American marriage. The Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 848-861. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Cherlin, A. ( 2009). The Marriage-Go-Round: The state of marriage and family in America today. New York: Alfred A. Knoff, Random House, Inc. Google Scholar | |
|
Cherlin, A. , Kiernan, K. , & Chase-Lansdale, P. (1995). Parental divorce in childhood and demographic outcomes in young adulthood. Demography, 32, 299-318. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Cohen, J. , & Manning, W. ( 2009). Estimates and correlates of serial cohabitation. Bowling Green State University, Center for Family and Demographic Research , Working Paper Series 09-04. Google Scholar | |
|
Collins, A. , Hennighausen, K. , Schmit, D. , & Sroufe, A. ( 1997). Developmental precursors of romantic relationships: A longitudinal analysis. New Directions for Child Adolescent Development, 78, 69-84. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Collins, A. , & Van Dulmen, M. (2006). Friendships and romance in emerging adulthood: Assessing distinctiveness in close relationships. In J. Arnett & J. Tanner (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century (pp. 219-234). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Connolly, J. , Furman, W. , & Konarski, R. ( 2000). The role of peers in emergence of heterosexual romantic relationships in adolescence. Child Development, 71, 1395-1408. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Crane, J. ( 1991). The epidemic theory of ghettos and neighborhood effects on dropping out and teenage childbearing. American Journal of Sociology, 96, 1226-1259. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Eggebeen, D. ( 2005). Cohabitation and exchanges of support. Social Forces, 83, 1097-1110. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Felmlee, D. ( 2001). No couple is an island: A social network perspective on dyadic stability. Social Forces, 79, 1259-1287. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Felmlee, D. , Sprecher, S. , & Bassin, E. ( 1990). The dissolution of intimate relationships: A hazard model . Social Psychology Quarterly, 53, 13-30. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Flanigan, C. , Huffman, R. , & Smith, J. ( 2005). Teens’ attitudes toward marriage, cohabitation, and divorce, 2002. Science Says. Washington, DC 16: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy . Google Scholar | |
|
Fontana, A. , & Frey, J. ( 1994). Interviewing: The art of science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Giordano, P. , Longmore, M. , & Manning, W. ( 2008). Romantic partner effects on alcohol use in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, October 29, Bowling Green, OH. Google Scholar | |
|
Guzzo, K. ( 2009). Marital intentions and the stability of first cohabitations . Journal of Family Issues, 30,179-205. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Hao, L. ( 1996). Family structure, private transfers, and the economic well-being of families with children. Social Forces, 75, 269-292. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Hartup, W. , French, D. , Laursen, B. , Johnson, M. , & Ogawa, J. ( 1993). Conflict and friendship relations in middle childhood: Behavior in a closed-field situation. Child Development, 64, 445-454. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Heinz, W.R. ( 2002). Self-socialization and post-traditional society. Advances in Life Course Research, 7, 41-64. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Jencks, C. , & Mayer, S. ( 1990). The social consequences of growing up in a poor neighborhood . In L. Lynn , Jr. & M. McGeary (Eds.), Inner-city poverty in the United States (pp. 111-185). Washington, DC: National Academic Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Kennedy, S. , & Bumpass, L. ( 2008). Cohabitation and children’s living arrangements: New estimates from the United States. Demographic Research , 19, 1663-1692. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Lehrer, E. ( 2000). Religion as an entry into cohabitation and marriage. In J. Waite , J. Bachrach , & M. Hindin (Eds.), The ties that bind (pp. 227-252). New York, NY: Aldine Transaction. Google Scholar | |
|
Leventhal, T. , & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes . Psychological Bulletin, 126, 309-337. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Lichter, D. , McLaughlin, D. , Kephart, G. , & Landry, D. ( 1992). Race and the retreat from marriage: A shortage of marriageable men? American Sociological Review, 57, 781-799. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Lichter, D. , & Qian, Z. ( 2008). Serial cohabitation and the marital life course. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 861-878. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Lonardo, R. , Manning, W. , Giordano, P. , & Longmore, M. ( 2010). Offending, substance use, and cohabitation in young adulthood . Sociological Forum, forthcoming. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Manning, W. ( 1993). Marriage and cohabitation following premarital conception . Journal of Marriage and Family, 55, 839-850. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Manning, W. , Longmore, M. , & Giordano, P. ( 2007). The changing institution of marriage: Adolescents expectations to cohabit and to marry. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 559-575. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Manning, W. , & Smock, P. ( 2002). First comes cohabitation and then comes marriage? Journal of Family Issues, 23, 1065-1087. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Marks, N. , & McLanahan, S. ( 1993). Gender, family structure, and social support among parents . The Journal of Marriage and Family, 55, 481-449. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
McLanahan, S. , & Sandefur, G. ( 1994). Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps . Cambridge , MA: Harvard University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Nazio, T. , & Blossfeld, H. ( 2003). The diffusion of cohabitation among young women in West Germany, East Germany and Italy. European Journal of Population , 19, 47-82. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rindfuss, R. , Choe, K. , Bumpass, L. , & Tsuya, N. ( 2004). Social networks and family change in Japan. American Sociological Review, 69, 838-861. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Rosina, A. , & Fraboni, R. ( 2004). Is marriage losing its centrality in Italy? Demographic Research, 11, 149-172. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Sassler, S. ( 2004). The process of entering into cohabiting unions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 491-505. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Sassler, S. , Cunningham, A. , & Lichter, D. ( 2009). Intergenerational patterns of union formation and relationship quality. Journal of Family Issues, 30, 757-786. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Sassler, S. , & Schoen, R. ( 1999). The effects of attitudes and economic activity on marriage . Journal of Marriage and Family, 61, 147-159. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Seltzer, J. ( 2004). Cohabitation in the United States and Britain: Demography, kinship, and the future. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 921-928. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Smock, P. , Huang, P. , Manning, W. , & Bergstrom, C. ( 2010). He Says, She Says? Gender and motives for cohabitation . Journal of Family Issues, forthcoming. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Smock, P. , & Manning, W. ( 1997). Cohabiting partners’ economic circumstances and marriage. Demography, 34, 331-341. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
South, S. ( 1993). Racial and ethnic differences in the desire to marry . The Journal of Marriage and Family, 55, 357-370. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
South, S. ( 2001). The geographic context of divorce: Do neighborhoods matter ? The Journal of Marriages and Family, 63, 755-766. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
South, S. , & Lloyd, K. ( 1992). Marriage opportunities and family formation: Further implications of imbalanced sex ratios. Demography, 54, 440-452. Google Scholar | |
|
Sprecher, S. , & Felmlee, D. ( 1992). The influence of parents and friends on the quality and stability of romantic relationships: A three-wave longitudinal investigation . Journal of Marriage and Family, 54, 283-322. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Teachman, J. , & Polonko, K. ( 1990). Cohabitation and marital stability in the United States . Social Forces, 69, 207-220. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Thornton, A. , Axinn, W. , & Hill, D. ( 1992). Reciprocal effects of religiosity, cohabitation, and marriage. The American Journal of Sociology, 98, 628-651. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
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 | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Thornton, A. , & Young-Demarco, L. (2001). Four decades of trends in attitudes toward family issues in the United States: The 1960s through the 1990s. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1009-1037. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
U.S. Census Bureau. (2009). Table MS-2. Estimated median age at first marriage, by sex: 1890 to the present . Google Scholar | |
|
Webster, P. , Orbuch, T. , & House, J. ( 1995). Effects of childhood family background on adult marital quality and perceived stability. The American Journal of Sociology , 101, 404-432. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Weitzman, E. ( 1999). Analyzing qualitative data with computer software. Health Services Research, 34, 1241-1263. Google Scholar | Medline | ISI | |
|
Wilson, W.J. ( 1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Wolfinger, N. ( 2003). Family structure homogamy: The effects of parental divorce on partner selection and marital stability. Social Science Research, 1, 80-97. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Xie, Y. , Raymo, J. , Goyette, K. , & Thornton, A. ( 2003). Economic potential and entry into marriage and cohabitation . Demography, 40, 351-367. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI |
