Links between premarital cohabitation and subsequent marital quality, stability, and divorce: A comparison of covenant versus standard marriages

    Authors

    S. L. Brown; L. A. Sanchez; S. L. Nock;J. D. Wright

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Soc. Sci. Res.

    Keywords

    cohabitation; divorce; marital quality; marriage; religion; UNITED-STATES; FAMILY; DISSOLUTION; COMMITMENT; ATTITUDES; UNIONS; TRENDS; POLICY; Sociology

    Abstract

    We extend prior research on the association between premarital cohabitation and marital outcomes by investigating whether covenant marriage, which entails more stringent requirements for divorce, minimizes the deleterious effects of cohabitation on subsequent marital quality and stability. Using a unique longitudinal data set of covenant and standard newlywed couples in Louisiana, we find that covenant marriage does not modify the effects of premarital cohabitation on marital instability, happiness, dependency, or divorce for either wives or husbands. In fact, once we control for sociodemographic characteristics, premarital relationship factors, and marital factors, the relationships between premarital cohabitation and marital outcomes reduces to non-significance, suggesting that selection factors largely account for the deleterious effects of premarital cohabitation on marital success. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Social Science Research

    Volume

    35

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2006

    Document Type

    Article; Proceedings Paper

    Language

    English

    First Page

    454

    Last Page

    470

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000238405400008

    ISSN

    0049-089X

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