Time with a Partner and Well-being: Differences Between Married and Cohabiting Couples

• In Event: 381 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Couple Relationships

Abstract

Cohabitating unions have become increasingly common in American society as has parenthood among cohabiting couples. Several studies have considered differences in the quality and nature of married and cohabiting relationships with much evidence showing that cohabitors have lower relationship quality than married individuals. Extending this literature in light of recent evidence that marriage and cohabitation exert similar effects on individual well-being, we use the American Time Use Survey (2003-2014) to investigate whether married and cohabiting parents and non-parents differ in the time they spend with a partner and the relationship between shared time and well-being. Preliminary findings indicate that among non-parents married individuals spend more time with a spouse than cohabiting individuals. Cohabiting parents spend more time alone together than married parents. These differences are exacerbated in multivariate analyses controlling for sociodemographic differences.

Authors

• Sarah M. Flood, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

• Katie Genadek

• Joan Garcia Roman