Cohabitation, Marriage and Divorce among Adolescents and Young Adults

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Abstract
This study examines a variety of important aspects of marriage, cohabitation, and divorce among young adults. Using longitudinal data obtained in high school, men and women in their early twenties were compared on the basis of whether they have or have not cohabited, in general, and, for those who married, whether they had cohabited prior to marriage. Prior to cohabiting, future cohabitors reported significantly more frequent drug use, poorer relationships with family and friends, and more nontraditional personality traits than noncohabitors. Using concurrent data obtained from the young adults, these same groups were compared on a variety of variables related to autonomy needs, dependency conflicts, friendship network, and quality of life. Cohabitors tended to have more dependency conflicts, somewhat more autonomy needs, more sexually active friendship network, and lower life satisfaction in many areas, compared with noncohabitors. It was also found that premarital cohabitors had significantly higher divorce rates than those who did not cohabit before marriage. Results are discussed in terms of life stage, maturity level, and autonomy/affiliation needs.
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