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Cohabitation with a romantic partner has become common in recent decades. This meta-analysis examined the link between premarital cohabitation and marital stability (k = 16) and marital quality (k = 12). Cohabitation had a significant negative association with both marital stability and marital quality. The negative predictive effect on marital stability, however, did not remain when only cohabitation with the eventual marital partner was analyzed, suggesting that these cohabitors may attach more long-term meaning to living together. Moderator analyses demonstrated that effects of cohabitation have remained consistent over time, despite the fact that cohabitation has become more normative.
Key Words: cohabitation, divorce, meta-analysis, relationship processes, relationship quality.
Although premarital cohabitation may have been viewed as scandalous a few decades ago, it has become much more socially acceptable for individuals in close relationships. For instance, about 500,000 individuals were living with their romantic partner in 1970 (Brown, 2004b). Only 30 years later, however, about 10 times as many people (4.9 million) were living with atheir romantic partner of the opposite sex, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (2000). The considerable increase suggests the shifting of trends in the landscape of American close relationships.
Cohabitation has captured the attention of social scientists, with research on cohabitation burgeoning in the 1980s. The current metaanalytic review focuses on cohabitation within the context of marital relationships. Because same-sex couples are not yet universally able to enter into legal marriage, systematic analysis of premarital same-sex cohabitation is beyond the scope of this article. Interested readers are referred to research by Lawrence Kurdek and others (Gottman, Levenson, & Gross, 2003; Kurdek, 1988, 1992).
Cohabitation has become more common over time (Manning & Smock, 2002; Schoen, 1992), yet the results of studies investigating its associated marital outcomes are mixed. Some research on long-term cohabitors (those who do not necessarily go on to marry someone) indicates their relationships are indeed less stable, less committed, and have lower relationship quality compared to marriages (Brown, 2004b; Bumpass & Sweet, 1989; Nock, 1995; Sarantakos, 1991; Stafford, Kline, & Rankin, 2004). Other research, however, has found that longterm cohabitors do not have more negative relationship trajectories than married individuals (Bouchard, 2006; Newcomb & Bentler, 1980a). Some cohabitors may view their relationship as an alternative to marriage:...