Premarital cohabitation and divorce: Support for the "Trial Marriage" Theory?

Kulu, Hill; Boyle, Paul J.

doi:10.4054/demres.2010.23.31

Cited by 36 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…As a consequence, those who survive until marriage will show lower risks of marriage dissolution. Following this perspective, Kulu and Boyle (2010) shows that premarital cohabitation, net of self-selection, decreases the risk of separation in Austria, supporting the notion of cohabitation as a “trial marriage” able to reinforce subsequent marital stability.…”

Section: Research Question and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sécularisation, Pratiques de Mise en Union et Stabilité des Mariages: Le Cas de l’Italie

Impicciatore

Billari

2012

Eur J Population

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Descriptive statistics indicate that civil marriages and marriages preceded by premarital cohabitation are more unstable, i.e., more frequently followed by divorce. However, the literature has shown that selectivity plays an important role in the relationship between premarital cohabitation and union dissolution. We do not have evidence to date regarding the selectivity in the effect of civil marriage. The Italian case appears particularly interesting given the recent diffusion of premarital cohabitation and civil marriage. Using micro-level data from a national-level representative survey conducted in 2003, we develop a multiprocess model that allows unobserved heterogeneity to be correlated across the three decisions (premarital cohabitation, civil marriage, and divorce). Our results show that selectivity is the main factor that explains the higher divorce rates among those who experience premarital cohabitation and a civil marriage. Net of selectivity, the causal effect on union dissolution disappears.

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Section: Research Question and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sécularisation, Pratiques de Mise en Union et Stabilité des Mariages: Le Cas de l’Italie

Impicciatore

Billari

2012

Eur J Population

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“…Other research suggests that cohabitations are less stable than marriages (Hayward and Brandon 2010;Kennedy and Bumpass 2008) and that premarital cohabitation has a strong association with marital dissolution (Wagner and Weiß 2006). However, Kulu and Boyle (2010), controlling for observed and unobserved characteristics, found that the risk of marriage dissolution was in fact lower for premarital cohabitants than for their directly marrying counterparts. Soons and Kalmijn (2009) showed that, after married couples, cohabiting couples have the lowest mortality rates.…”

Section: The Emergence Of Cohabitationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Mortality Differences by Partnership Status in England and Wales: The Effect of Living Arrangements or Health Selection?

Franke

Kulu

2017

Eur J Population

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This article investigates the relationship between partnership status and mortality in England and Wales. Using data from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study for the period between 2001 and 2011, we examine whether married people have lower mortality levels than unmarried individuals; whether individuals who cohabit have mortality levels similar to those of married or single persons; and how much the fact that married couples live with someone rather than alone explains their low mortality. Our analysis shows first that married individuals have lower mortality than unmarried persons. Second, men and women in premarital unions exhibit mortality levels similar to those of married men and women, whereas mortality levels are elevated for post-marital cohabitants. Third, controlling for household size and the presence of children reduces mortality differences between married and unmarried non-partnered individuals, but significant differences persist. The study supports both protection and selection theory. The increase in mortality differences by age between never-married cohabitants and married couples is likely a sign of the long-term accumulation of health and wealth benefits of marriage. Similar mortality levels of cohabiting and married couples at younger ages suggest that healthier individuals are more likely to find a partner. Keywords England and Wales Á Survival analysis Á Mortality differences Á Marital status Á Cohabitation Á ONS LS

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“…In Europe, cohabitation has experienced a similar rise (Kasearu & Kutsar, 2011), as more than 80% of men cohabit before marriage in Northern Europe (Kalmijn, 2011;Kiernan, 2004). Although cohabitation can be used to evaluate partners and strengthen the marital bond by serving as a trial marriage (Heuveline & Timberlake, 2004;Kulu & Boyle, 2010), scholars have found that premarital cohabitation is positively associated with marital dissolution (Axinn & Thornton, 1992;Bumpass, Sweet, & Cherlin, 1991;Cohan & Kleinbaum, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution in Postreform China

Zhang

2017

J of Marriage and Family

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The author uses cohabitation data from the 2010 Chinese Family Panel Studies to analyze the association of premarital cohabitation with subsequent divorce of first marriage. After balancing selection factors that influence premarital cohabitation through propensity score matching, the author uses Cox proportional hazards models to examine the selection, causation, and diffusion perspectives on the relationship between premarital cohabitation and marital dissolution. The results show that premarital cohabitation is positively associated with divorce for those married in the early‐reform period (1980–1994) when cohabitation was uncommon. However, this relationship disappears for those married in the late‐reform period (1995–2010) when cohabitation became more prevalent. The findings suggest variation in the link between premarital cohabitation and divorce across different marriage cohorts and provide strong evidence for the diffusion perspective in postreform China. Supplemental sensitivity analyses support the robustness of the conclusion.

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Premarital cohabitation and divorce: Support for the "Trial Marriage" Theory?

Cited by 36 publications

References 66 publications

Sécularisation, Pratiques de Mise en Union et Stabilité des Mariages: Le Cas de l’Italie

Sécularisation, Pratiques de Mise en Union et Stabilité des Mariages: Le Cas de l’Italie

Mortality Differences by Partnership Status in England and Wales: The Effect of Living Arrangements or Health Selection?

Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution in Postreform China

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