338 Chapter 9In addition to the difference in the kinds
of people who enter into cohabiting relation-
ships, the marital relationships of people who
have cohabited may differ from the marital
relationships of people who have not. People
may enter cohabiting relationships instead
of marriage because they are more tenta-
tive about the relationship; that tentativeness
could be a sign of a less well-functioning re-
lationship. A great deal of evidence suggests
cohabiting relationships are not as healthy
as marital relationships (Stanley, Rhoades, &
Markman, 2006). Cohabiting heterosexual
couples are less committed to their relation-
ship, less satisfied with their relationship,
and report more problems in their relation-
ship compared to married couples. A marital
interaction study showed that couples who
had cohabited prior to engagement displayed
more negative interactions, less supportive
behavior, and poorer problem-solving skills
compared to those who had cohabited after
engagement or those who had not cohabited
at all (Kline et al., 2004). There is also a higher
incidence of domestic violence and child
abuse in cohabiting compared to marital rela-
tionships (Popenoe & Whitehead, 1999). The
lower quality of cohabiting relationships may
extend into marriage. Cohabiting couples may
drift into marriage without making a serious
commitment to the relationship, an effect that
has been referred to as “sliding versus decid-
ing” (Popanoe, 2008; Stanley et al., 2006).
A third reason cohabitation may have
adverse effects on marriage is the possibil-
ity that the cohabitation experience alters
the people or the relationship in ways that
make it less viable after marriage. People
who cohabit have a more egalitarian divi-
sion of labor –and that egalitarian division of
labor extends to marriage (Batalova & Cohen,
2002). A more egalitarian division of labor
should be viewed as a benefit but egalitarianThe negative effects of cohabitation are
not limited to the United States. Despite its
increase in prevalence in Scandinavia, cohab-
itation relationships are still less serious, less
satisfying, and more likely to break up than
marital relationships—even when couples
have children (Popenoe, 2008). Cohabitation
seems to have negative outcomes for chil-
dren in the United States but not in Sweden
(Bjorklund, Ginther, & Sundstrom, 2007).
One reason may be that cohabiting couples
spend less time with children than married
couples in the United States but the same
amount of time with children as married cou-
ples in Sweden (Ono & Yeilding, 2009).
What are the reasons for the negative
outcomes associated with cohabitation? One
answer lies in the kind of people who choose
to cohabit. There is a selection bias in com-
paring marriages among people who did and
did not cohabit; after all, people are not ran-
domly assigned to cohabit or not. The kind
of person who cohabits has less traditional
views of gender roles, less traditional views
of marriage, is more accepting of divorce,
and is less religious. Each of these factors is
associated with divorce.
Cohabitation also may be construed dif-
ferently by women and men. Men may be less
likely than women to perceive cohabitation
as a prelude to marriage. One study showed
that men who had cohabited prior to marriage
were less committed to the marital relation-
ship than men who had not, whereas there was
no difference in women’s commitment based
on cohabitation history (Stanley, Whitton, &
Markman, 2004). In another study, men who
had cohabited prior to engagement were less
committed during marriage than men who
had cohabited after engagement or had not co-
habited at all, whereas no commitment differ-
ences appeared among the groups of women
(Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2006).M09_HELG0185_04_SE_C09.indd 338 6/21/11 12:40 PM