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Cohabitation, Parental Divorce, & Marital Success

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Cohabitation, Parental Divorce, & Marital Success A “Cohabitation Effect”? Cohabitation, Parental Divorce, & Marital Success THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jennifer M. Hunt Graduate Program in Human Ecology The Ohio State University 2009 Master's Examination Committee: Claire M. Kamp Dush, Advisor Anastasia Snyder Copyright by Jennifer M. Hunt 2009 Abstract This thesis sets out to expand the literature on the “cohabitation effect”; that is, the idea that couples who cohabit before marriage have greater marital instability than couples who do not live together before marriage. I test two competing hypotheses. First, the selection/cumulative risk perspective arguing that cohabiters already possess numerous risk factors associated with poor relationship outcomes, so the addition of exposure to parental divorce makes these specific cohabiters even worse off. Following this hypothesis, I predict the children of divorce who cohabit will have lower levels of marital quality and a greater risk of divorce as compared to the children of intact families who cohabit. Also, all respondents who cohabit will have lower levels of marital quality and a greater risk of divorce as compared with the children of intact families who do not cohabit. The second hypothesis favors the differential experience of cohabitation perspective. This assumes that children of divorce want to prevent what they went through while experiencing their own parents’ divorce, so they may use cohabitation as way to “weed out” a bad relationship before marriage. So I hypothesize that children of divorce who cohabit will have higher levels of marital quality and a lower risk of divorce as compared to the children of intact families who cohabit. Also, the children of divorce who do not cohabit will have lower levels of marital quality and a high risk of divorce as compared to the children of intact families who do not cohabit. Overall, the results supported the selection/cumulative risk perspective. I found that, regardless of parental ii divorce, premarital cohabitation, or the other controls, the number of risks for divorce an individual possessed was strongly, and significantly associated with poorer marital outcomes, even stronger than the impact of parental divorce and premarital cohabitation in every instance. In one model I did find support for the differential experience of cohabitation perspective. The experience of a parental divorce led to less reported marital happiness in both cohabiters and non-cohabiters. Yet when an individual experienced a cohabiting relationship and a parental divorce, reported marital happiness increased, even after taking into account the risk score. iii Acknowledgments I would like to extend special thanks and acknowledgement to the following people: Dr. Claire Kamp Dush for her support and advice in creating this document. Dr. Anastasia Snyder for her expertise and feedback in revising this document. iv Vita May 2004 .................................................... Marion Technical College (Post Secondary) May 2004 .................................................... Kenyon College (Post Secondary) 2008 ............................................................ B.A. Psychology, University of Toledo 2009 ............................................................ M.S. Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Human Ecology v Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... iv Vita .................................................................................................................................v List of Tables................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................. viii Review of Literature ........................................................................................................1 Hypotheses .................................................................................................................... 11 Method .......................................................................................................................... 12 Results ........................................................................................................................... 17 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 24 References ..................................................................................................................... 37 vi List of Tables Table 1. Sample Selection ............................................................................................. 30 Table 2. Means and Standard Deviations of Study Variables......................................... 31 Table 3. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression Analyses for Parental Divorce, Premarital Cohabitation, and Marital Happiness ............................................................ 32 Table 4. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression Analyses for Parental Divorce, Premarital Cohabitation, and Marital Interaction ............................................................ 33 Table 5. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression Analyses for Parental Divorce, Premarital Cohabitation, and Divorce Proneness ............................................................ 34 Table 6. Logistic Regression Analyses for Parental Divorce, Premarital Cohabitation, and Offspring Divorce ................................................................................................... 35 vii List of Figures Figure 1. The Interaction of Premarital Cohabitation and Parental Divorce for Marital Happiness ...................................................................................................................... 36 viii Review of Literature In 2004, nearly 4.6 million U.S. households were maintained by heterosexual cohabiting couples (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). Cohabitation is not only growing more and more common in Western societies, but it is also more widely accepted as a natural precursor to marriage (Thorton & Young-DeMarco, 2001). Although the definition of what constitutes a “cohabiting relationship” has been a debate of both research scholars and everyday couples, no one can argue that the shift in acceptable living arrangements has drastically changed the marriage ideal. Likewise, while the reasons for cohabiting before marriage vary with each couple, one thing has stayed consistent; cohabitation has been associated with poor marital outcomes again and again. Stanley, Rhoades, & Markman (2006) have labeled this notion the "cohabitation effect". While the “cohabitation effect” may be the label given to marriages preceded by cohabitation that end in divorce or permanent separation, the reason these marriages are ending is because marital quality diminished or never existed in the first place. Research shows that individuals who are satisfied with their intimate relationships live longer, are physically healthier (Kiecold-Glaser & Newton, 2001), and are better parents (Grych & Fincham, 1990). Likewise, studies have indicated that an individual’s relationship satisfaction is influenced by the perception of the partner’s love attitudes, perceived empathy, and other forms of relationship communication (Meeks et al., 1998). 1 This paper sets out to elaborate on previous findings of the “cohabitation effect” by examining the role parental divorce and premarital cohabitation have on offspring’s future relationship success using the Martial Instability Across the Life Course dataset. Cohabitation and Marital Quality and Stability Researchers have suggested that marriages preceded by a cohabiting union have a higher risk of martial instability and lower marital quality (Kamp Dush, Cohan, & Amato, 2003), less supportive behavior, less time spent together in shared activities, and a greater perceived likelihood of future martial dissolution (Cohan & Kleinbaum, 2002; Kamp Dush et al., 2003). Brown (2004) extended this idea by considering the issue of timing with regards to couples cohabiting. Her results showed that married couples who cohabited before their engagement reported more negative communication, lower satisfaction, and more physical aggression than those who cohabited only after engagement or marriage. More recently, Rhoades, Stanley, and Markman (2009) found that cohabiting before an engagement, even only with one’s future spouse, is associated with lower marital quality and higher divorce potential. Given the accumulated evidence that premarital cohabitation is associated with marital dysfunction, the question remains: why are so many people still cohabiting? Johnson et al., (2002) and Smock & Manning (2009) found that many young adults believe cohabitation is a good way to test their relationship prior to marriage. Also, with the steady digression of the economy, it is not foolish to believe that couples are cohabiting for the sole purpose of saving money. Another possible reason for continued prevalence of cohabitation, as previously discussed before, is the tendency to cohabit 2 after becoming engaged (Oppenheimer,
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