title: Unmarried cohabitation and union stability: testing the role of diffusion using data from 16 European countries.
abstract: Cohabitors and married people who cohabited before marriage have higher risks of union dissolution than people who married without prior cohabitation. However, these differences in union stability vary markedly between countries. We hypothesize that the impact of cohabitation on union stability depends on how far cohabitation has diffused within a society. We test this hypothesis with data from 16 European countries. The results support our hypothesis: former cohabitors run a higher risk of union dissolution than people who married without prior cohabitation only in societies in which cohabitation is a small minority or a large majority phenomenon.
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, The Hague. liefbroer@nidi.nl
authors.forename: Aart C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Liefbroer
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dourleijn
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004243:Divorce / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005060:Europe; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012306:Risk; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018454:Spouses / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data