Reasons for Cohabitation and Relationship Quality Across the Transition to Parenthood
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Date
2011-06
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine how the reasons for cohabitation affect relationship quality across the transition to parenthood. Mothers and fathers from a sample of 124 dual-earner couples participated in a variety of activities that helped measure their relationship quality as well as their reasons for moving in together. The reasons couples gave for moving in together were classified into two categories: internal reasons and external reasons. The couples completed surveys about the reasons they moved in with their partner and their satisfaction with their relationship.
This study sought to answer the following research question: Do cohabiting couples who cite internal reasons for cohabitation weather the transition to parenthood better than cohabiting couples who cite external reasons? I hypothesized that couples who cite internal reasons will have a stronger base for their relationship and will weather the transition to parenthood better than couples who cite external reasons.
After analyzing the data, I found that couples who cited internal reasons for cohabitation did not weather the transition to parenthood any better than couples who cited external reasons. Both internal and external reasons were at some point associated with less relationship quality. This then suggests that there is not a single reason that couples should consider before moving in together.
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Keywords
reasons, cohabitation, transition, parenthood