Family, Organization of

Cohabitation

Cohabitation, where couples live together without being married, used to be quite uncommon and mainly reserved for the poor. Today, most couples who marry for the first time have cohabited before doing so. Cohabitation is even more common before remarriage. Especially for the middle class, cohabitation has become an acceptable state of trial marriage, where couples live together and share financial duties in preparation for married life. Cohabitation is also done in place of marriage. The marriage rate has declined in recent decades, especially among the poor, and the remarriage rate has dropped. The increase in cohabitation largely accounts for these decreases.

Many reasons have been cited for the momentous increase in cohabitation. For those who have never married, cohabitation offers the economic and emotional benefits of household-sharing without the risks of long-term commitment. With the later age at first marriage comes more time to experiment with different options before marrying. Americans are also more accepting of premarital sex than in the past, and this can lower the incentive to marry. Both those who have never married and those who have been divorced are less confident about marital stability, and cohabitation allows them to be coupled without being married.

Divorce

Divorce is also more common than in previous eras. The divorce rate rose particularly from the early 1960s through the 1970s. It has since leveled off, with recent data showing approximately 18 of 1,000 married women divorcing in a year, resulting in a 50 percent lifetime probability of divorce for those marrying today. The increase in divorce has caused a lot of concern and controversy, both in its causes and its consequences.

[Page 272]In reference to causes, the concomitant rise in women's employment is commonly stated. Before the 1960s, women were a distinct numerical minority in the paid labor force. As their numbers grew, so did the likelihood of their financial independence. This removed a previous impediment to leaving unhappy marriages. During this time, the employment opportunities for men without college educations have been declining since the early 1970s. A husband's unemployment is also a risk factor for divorce, so this further contributes to the higher rate (and the greater likelihood of divorce among the poor). In addition, beginning in California in 1970 and since spreading to every other state, divorce legislation became more lenient. Couples can divorce because of “irreconcilable differences,” rather than having to blame a spouse for adultery, desertion, violence, or some other allowable “fault.”

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