Sliding and Deciding: Transitions to Cohabitation among Low-Income Black Mothers of Adolescents

• In Event: 091 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Paper Session. Families that Challenge and are Challenged by Our Times

Abstract

We examine the transition to cohabitation and the “sliding” model of union formation by analyzing in-depth interview data collected from 15 low-income Black mothers of adolescents and their cohabiting partners. In contrast with the sliding model, which suggests transitions to cohabitation are not deliberate, we find that children’s well-being plays a key role in mothers’ decisions to make the transition to cohabitation. Though the transition is often gradual, our analysis suggests that, for this population, the gradual nature of the transition is due to mothers exercising caution and making decisions at each step of the process. Mothers’ partners tend to understand that the children are a central part of the relationship formation process, and conform to what seem to be established social norms for this transition. This suggests that cohabiting stepfamilies are becoming an institutionalized family form, and that cohabitation processes may vary substantially by subpopulation.

Authors

• Megan Reid, National Development and Research Institutes

• Andrew Golub, National Development and Research Institutes