How Does Cohabitation Change People’s Attitudes toward Family Dissolution?

Abstract We study if (and how) transitioning into and living in an unmarried cohabitation makes people more accepting of family dissolution. We explore if cohabitation and marriage associate with a different change in attitudes across a set of nine European countries. Using comparative two-wave panel data and within-person attitude change models, we show that time spent in an unmarried cohabitation associates with increased tolerance of divorce at the second interview, net of the transition to cohabitation itself. Cohabitation duration has an effect opposite to the effect of marriage duration. We found little systematic variation in the association between cohabitation and attitude change across countries. We highlight that cohabitation plays a dual role during the Second Demographic Transition: its rise stems from less traditional and more permissive attitudes and values regarding family life. Experience with cohabitation also serves as a catalyst for a value change and further contributes, at the individual level, to a shift toward a less traditional normative standpoint.