Peer-reviewed article
The Social Significance of Interracial Cohabitation: Inferences Based on Fertility Behavior.
Kate H Choi, Rachel E Goldberg ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines cohabitation patterns among interracial and same-race couples in the United States, using fertility behavior to understand whether cohabitation has different meanings across racial groups. The researchers analyzed data on pregnancy risk, pregnancy intentions, and union transitions from over a decade of surveys. The findings show that interracial couples display different patterns of family formation depending on the specific racial pairing, suggesting that cohabitation serves different social functions for different groups.
Key points
- White-Black cohabitations showed fertility patterns similar to same-race Black cohabitations, suggesting cohabitation functions as a substitute for marriage in this context
- White-Hispanic cohabitations displayed intermediate patterns, suggesting they represent something between trial marriage and marriage substitute
- Women in White-Black cohabitations had lower unintended pregnancy rates than Black women in same-race cohabitations, indicating these unions are viewed as more marriage-like
- Women in White-Hispanic cohabitations had higher unintended pregnancy rates, possibly reflecting concerns about social discrimination
- Findings indicate heterogeneity in the social meaning of interracial cohabitation across different racial pairings
Limitations
This study focuses on cohabitation patterns and fertility behavior in the United States and does not directly assess the well-being of children born to these couples. The analysis is observational and cannot establish causal mechanisms for the observed fertility differences.
Abstract
Interracial couples cohabit at higher rates than same-race couples, which is attributed to lower barriers to interracial cohabitation relative to intermarriage. This begs the question of whether the significance of cohabitation differs between interracial and same-race couples. Using data from the 2006-2017 National Survey of Family Growth, we assessed the meaning of interracial cohabitation by comparing the pregnancy risk, pregnancy intentions, and union transitions following a pregnancy among women in interracial and same-race cohabitations. The pregnancy and union transition behaviors of women in White-Black cohabitations resembled those of Black women in same-race cohabitations, suggesting that White-Black cohabitation serves as a substitute to marriage and reflecting barriers to the formation of White-Black intermarriages. The behaviors of women in White-Hispanic cohabitations fell between those of their same-race counterparts or resembled those of White women in same-race cohabitations. These findings suggest that White-Hispanic cohabitations take on a meaning between trial marriage and substitute to marriage and support views that Hispanics with White partners are a more assimilated group than Hispanics in same-race unions. Results for pregnancy intentions deviated from these patterns. Women in White-Black cohabitations were less likely than Black women in same-race cohabitations to have an unintended pregnancy, suggesting that White-Black cohabitations are considered marriage-like unions involving children. Women in White-Hispanic cohabitations were more likely than White and Hispanic women in same-race cohabitations to have an unintended pregnancy, reflecting possible concerns about social discrimination. These findings indicate heterogeneity in the significance of interracial cohabitation and continuing obstacles to interracial unions.