Cohabitation: Parents Following in Their Children’s Footsteps?*

Abstract

As cohabitation has risen dramatically in the past few decades among adults of all ages, it is possible that middle and older-aged parents are "learning" cohabitation from their young adult children. The present study uses this theory as a guiding framework to determine if parents are more likely to cohabit themselves following the start of a young adult child's cohabitation. Using three waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 275), results show that union formation patterns are influenced by young adult children among parents who are single at their child's 18 th birthday. Parents are less likely to marry than remain single and are much more likely to cohabit than marry if they have a young adult child who cohabits. These results show support for the hypotheses.Cohabitation has risen rapidly in the United States over the past 30 years. Today, there are over 5 million cohabiting couples in the United States, which is over 9 times the number of couples cohabiting in 1970 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005). Cohabitation is occurring among people of all ages although less attention has been on those who cohabit in middle and later life. Only a handful of studies have attempted to describe older cohabitors and determine what factors are considered in their decision to cohabit rather than marry (Brown, Bulanda, & Lee, 2005;Brown, Lee, & Bulanda, 2006;Chevan, 1996;King & Scott, 2005). These studies have not considered the impact of socialization by young adult children on the decision to cohabit in middle and later life.Socialization has in the past been considered a top down process; parents socialize their children, teachers socialize their students, and so on. However, theorists have come to realize that socialization continues throughout the life course. Reciprocal socialization is simply the notion that individuals are both agents and subjects of socialization. Socialization from child to parent has been discussed in the theoretical world; however, empirical studies of these processes have been rather limited (Crouter & Booth, 2003).To date, there are no studies that have examined the effect of young adult children's cohabitation experience on subsequent parental cohabitation behavior. One study did examine the influence of young adult children's cohabiting behavior on parental attitudes toward cohabitation and found that young adults' behavior positively influenced parental attitudes (Axinn & Thornton, 1993). Taking this a step further, I examine the influence of young adult children's cohabiting behavior on parental cohabiting behavior. While it is noteworthy that cohabitation socialization from children to parents can only occur among a select group of people, examining this type of relationship is relevant nonetheless. These issues will be discussed in detail below. Cohabitation is the modal pathway to marriage among young adults (Bumpass & Lu, 2000). Cohabitation is also more likely to occur among the previously married population than the never married (Bumpass & Lu, 2000). Furt...

Financial Consequences of Relationship Dissolution: A Longitudinal Comparison of Formerly Married and Unmarried Cohabiting Men and Women

“…After the differences in welfare state provision, the legal rights for cohabiting couples may influence their coping behavior or have consequences for their post-relationship finances. Trends in cohabitation and its implications for family life in western societies are well documented (Bumpass and Lu, 2000; Gonzalez et al, 2010; Hardie and Lucas, 2010; Hohmann-Marriott, 2011; Kennedy and Thomson, 2010; Liu et al, 2011; McClain, 2011; Wu et al, 2010). A major point in the research on cohabitation concerns the legal registration of the relationship.…”

Older Adults’ Attitudes Toward Cohabitation: Two Decades of Change

“…Third, even older adults who have not cohabited previously often have indirect experience with cohabitation through their children, who have formed cohabiting unions. Cohabitation among offspring is positively linked to subsequent cohabitation among parents (McClain, 2011). In short, the generation gap in cohabitation attitudes ought to have declined considerably over the past two decades.…”

'No, auntie, that's false': Challenges and resources of female baby boomers dealing with fake news on Facebook

“…These family members assisted in the identification of fake news. This phenomenon is a reverse socialisation process, where older people learn from and are socialised by young people (McClain, 2011). Family members were agents of motivation and literacy, transferring their knowledge in general about Facebook as well as in identifying misleading information.…”

“…Interviewees perceived that some young family members dif not the correct critical skills to identify fake news or biased information. This dissonance across generations, framed as a reverse socialisation process (McClain, 2011), opens up prospects for further research into its causes, examining techniques that rectify this dissonance.…”