Cohabitation among Immigrants versus Natives in the U.S.

Susan L. Brown, Bowling Green State University
Jennifer E. Glick, Arizona State University

The growing literature on U.S. cohabitation has largely ignored immigrants’ cohabitation experiences. This omission is consequential not only because immigrants comprise an increasing share of the U.S. population, but also because they are socioeconomically disadvantaged, placing them at greater risk for cohabitation. We use data from the 2000-2004 March CPS to examine the factors associated with cohabitation by generational status across race-ethnic groups, with an emphasis on socioeconomic characteristics (e.g., education and employment). This descriptive analysis will reveal the extent to which immigrant and native cohabitors possess similar characteristics. We also will model the factors related to (1) being in a union and (2) union type (i.e., cohabitation versus marriage). Both models will test for an interaction between generational status and education to evaluate whether the negative effects of education attenuate across generations. These analyzes will facilitate comparisons between cohabitors and marrieds for immigrants versus natives.