An ongoing question remains for family researchers: Why does a positive association between cohabitation and marital dissolution exist when one of the primary reasons to cohabit is to test relationship compatibility? Drawing on recently collected data from the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth, the authors examined whether premarital…

The United States shows striking racial and ethnic differences in marriage patterns. Compared to both white and Hispanic women, black women marry later in life, are less likely to marry at all, and have higher rates of marital instability. Kelly Raley, Megan Sweeney, and Danielle Wondra begin by reviewing common explanations for these differences,…

Prior research found that lower sexual frequency and satisfaction were associated with higher rates of divorce, but little research had examined the role of sexual activity in the dissolution of cohabiting unions. We drew upon social exchange theory to hypothesize why sexual frequency is more important in cohabitation: (a) cohabitors' lower costs…

The authors used data from the Add Health study to estimate the effects of parents' marital status and relationship distress on daughters' early family formation transitions. Outcomes included traditional transitions (marriage and marital births) and nontraditional transitions (cohabitation and nonmarital births). Relationship distress among…

Bivariate analyses showed that continuously married urban African American, non-Hispanic White, and Hispanic fathers and mothers reporting greater marital support and less relational control experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms. Multiple regression showed a stronger association between concurrent marital support and decreased depressive…

Reviews research on premarital factors associated with later marital quality and stability in first marriages. Three major categories of factors are described, including background and context, individual traits and behaviors, and couple interactional processes. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal research are summarized. Recommendations for…

We draw on three waves of the Fragile Families Study (N = 2,249) to examine family stability among a recent birth cohort of children. We find that children born to cohabiting versus married parents have over five times the risk of experiencing their parents' separation. This difference in union stability is greatest for White children, as compared…

The hypothetical constructs of attraction and barrier forces, as well as contrasting alternative attractions are used to organize the research literature on the determinants of marital stability and dissolution. (Author/AM)

This study discusses how many persons have had multiple marriages and have been divorced; length of time between marriages and the probability of marriage; and divorce, widowhood and remarriage by various social and economic characteristics based on marital history information from the Survey of Economic Opporutnity. (Author/CG)

Data from seven recent American national surveys found that persons remarried after divorce had rather high levels of reported well-being, but never-remarried women reported lower aggregate marital happiness than never-divorced married women or never-remarried men; the difference was not explained by race, age, or socioeconomic variables.…

Among 4,462 former servicemen surveyed, testosterone levels were positively related to not marrying and marital instability, and negatively related to every aspect of marital quality examined. Findings are analyzed in relation to three sociological theories of marital success based on socioeconomic status (educational attainment, income, and…

Income data for 413 male Wisconsin high school graduates whose first marriages ended in divorce or separation are used in this study to analyze the relationship of men's earnings to their probability of remarriage. A review of related literature is provided to illustrate the hypothesis that the higher a man's earnings are, the more likely he is to…

Variables associated with high risk of failure were prevalent in this primarily rural group and these included premarital pregnancy, school dropouts, low socioeconomic status, husband and wife under 18 years of age, limited dating experience, and lack of adequate income. Kin network of economic and psychological support and church activities were…

Sources of marital power are examined and are found to affect the power distribution. Data points to the conclusion that the differences in marital power are not due to individual resources or personal competence of the partners, but to the discrimination against women in the larger society. (Author)

Men and women were randomly chosen from courthouse divorce files. After initial contact by mail and by phone, those who agreed were mailed questionnaires developed to assess adjustment to divorce and to obtain information about the nature of divorce. Of those sent questionnaires, 44% completed and returned the assessment; the total sample…