Rising Cohabitation, What It Really Means

Christine Kim / March 08, 2010

“No family change has come to the fore in modern times more dramatically, and with such rapidity, as heterosexual cohabitation outside of marriage,” writes David Popenoe, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Rutgers University and one of the preeminent family scholars in the country.

The latest release by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) merely confirms Professor Popenoe’s conclusion.  It reports that, in 2002, one in two women aged 15 to 44 has been in a cohabiting relationship, about a 10-percentage-point increase since 1995.  Among women aged 25 and older, more than 60 percent have ever cohabited. (more…)