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The Stability of Same-Sex Cohabitation, Different-Sex Cohabitation, and Marriage
Article first published online: 24 SEP 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01000.x
Copyright © National Council on Family Relations, 2012
Additional Information
How to Cite
Lau, C. Q. (2012), The Stability of Same-Sex Cohabitation, Different-Sex Cohabitation, and Marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74: 973–988. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01000.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 24 SEP 2012
- Article first published online: 24 SEP 2012
- Abstract
- Article
- References
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Keywords:
- cohabitation;
- gay;
- lesbian;
- bisexual;
- transgender;
- marriage;
- social support;
- social trends/social change;
- stability
This study contributes to the emerging demographic literature on same-sex couples by comparing the level and correlates of union stability among 4 types of couples: (a) male same-sex cohabitation, (b) female same-sex cohabitation, (c) different-sex cohabitation, and (d) different-sex marriage. The author analyzed data from 2 British birth cohort studies: the National Child Development Study (N = 11,469) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (N = 11,924). These data contain retrospective histories of same-sex and different-sex unions throughout young adulthood (age 16–34) from 1974 through 2004. Event-history analyses showed that same-sex cohabitations have higher rates of dissolution than do different-sex cohabiting and marital unions. Among same-sex couples, male couples had slightly higher dissolution rates than did female couples. In addition, same-sex couples from the 1958 and 1970 birth cohorts had similar levels of union stability. The demographic correlates of union stability are generally similar for same-sex and different-sex unions.