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Since the middle of the 20th century, nonmarital cohabitation has steadily increased in many, if not most, affluent countries. This chapter traces temporal shifts and cross-national variation in cohabitation throughout the life course. It is divided into four sections: first unions (cohabitation or marriage and the transformation of cohabiting unions into marriage); the union context of first births, including mid-pregnancy cohabitation and marriage; union dissolution, including separation from cohabitation and divorce, both prior to and after a first child’s birth; and links between cohabitation and repartnering, including repeat cohabitation and the formation of stepfamilies, both during the childbearing years and in late life. The chapter focuses on cohabitation in Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries, but notes alternative forms of cohabitation and emerging trends in other societal contexts. |
