Societal trends indicate ambivalent attitudes about marriage, specifically a greater acceptance of divorce and nontraditional living arrangements. This paper examines adolescent attitudes toward marriage and their association with premarital sexual activity and cohabitation. Recommendations for helping adolescents understand the realities of…

Examines cohabitation in premarital childbearing among U.S. women. Utilized data from the National Survey of Families and Households and the New York Fertility, Employment, and Migration Survey. Marked racial and ethnic differences in the role of the cohabiting union in family building were evident. Interprets findings in terms of long-standing…

Replicated earlier study of couples in first year of marriage. Conducted follow-up study of couples in fourth year of marriage who had participated in original or replication studies. Concludes that premarital relationships of the couples, whether cohabitation or traditional courtship, does not appear to have had long-term effect on marital…

Considered role of cohabitation in legitimation of premarital conceptions using data from 920 women. Found that, for white women in their twenties, pregnant cohabiting women were more likely to legitimate their first birth. Among black women and teenage white women, pregnant cohabiting women were no more likely to marry before their child was born…

Are cohabiters different than married couples who cohabited before marriage? This study used the 2002 wave of the National Survey of Families and Households to determine how work behavior might differ for 4 relationship types: (a) cohabiters with uncertain marriage plans, (b) cohabiters with definite marriage plans, (c) premarital cohabiters who…

Examined patterns of heterosexual cohabitation among a national sample of never-married young adult women. Found that heterosexual cohabitation was common; the prevalence of cohabitation varied with social, psychological, and demographic variables; and several factors differentiated cohabitors from noncohabitors. Cohabitation appeared to be a new…

Investigated relationship between cohabitation and subsequent marital dissolution among 3,300 adults in United States. Consistent with results for Sweden, found that cohabitation in United States was associated with greater hazard of dissolution even after counting time spent in unmarried cohabitation as part of marital duration. (Author/NB)

Assessed the effects of cohabitation on subsequent marital adjustment. A comparison of couples (N=54) who had lived together before marriage with couples (N=30) who had not, showed significant differences. Unexpectedly, noncohabiters obtained higher marital satisfaction scores. Possible explanations in terms of test items are suggested.…

Examines the impact of nonfamily living arrangements and cohabitation on changes in family formation attitudes at the individual level. Results indicate that both the experience and duration of cohabiting arrangements have significant effects on family formation attitudes but fail to show significant consequences of premarital, nonfamily living…

This fact sheet reports the most recent information available on adolescent fertility in the United States. The following information is included: (1) the number of births to all adolescents, except those 14 years old and younger, has declined between 1980 and 1986; (2) the smaller number of births is due to a smaller number of adolescents and a…

Reviews major advances in research and theory on mate selection in the 1980s. Considers literature relevant to societal trends and influences on trends, social networks and premarital relationships, behavioral features of relationships, and individual attributions for relationship development. Throughout the review, two themes appear:…

Surveyed 268 college students about premarital sex in 1988 and compared findings to those from similar sample in 1983. Females in 1988 showed lower levels of sexual intercourse at all five dating stages than did 1983 counterparts. Males in 1988 reported higher levels of intercourse for first four dating stages than did 1983 males. (Author/NB)

With marriage laws in a state of flux, it is difficult to give unqualified answers to many of the serious and important questions people ask about law and marriage. To a great extent, each state is sovereign in the laws affecting marriage. Courts are playing an active role in defining and changing the legal consequences of marriage and other…