Timing Is Everything: Pre-Engagement Cohabitation and Increased Risk for Poor Marital Outcomes Galena H. Kline, Scott M. Stanley, Howard J. Markman, P. Antonio Olmos-Gallo, Michelle St. Peters, Sarah W. Whitton, and Lydia M. Prado University of Denver Data from a longitudinal study were used to examine differences among couples that cohabited before engagement, after engagement, or not until marriage. Survey data and objectively coded couple interaction data were collected for 136 couples (272 individuals) after engagement (but before marriage) and 10 months into marriage. At both time points, the before-engagement cohabiters (59 couples) had more negative interactions, lower interper- sonal commitment, lower relationship quality, and lower relationship confidence than those who did not cohabit until after engagement (28 couples) or marriage (49 couples), even after controlling for selection factors and duration of cohabitation. Our findings suggest that those who cohabit before engagement are at greater risk for poor marital outcomes than those who cohabit only after engagement or at marriage, which may have important implications for future research on cohabitation, clinical work, and social policy decisions. keywords: cohabitation, marriage, engagement, couple interaction, communication, prevention Gaining a better understanding of cohabitation is impor- tant given that cohabitation is becoming more common (Casper & Bianchi, 2001; Manning & Smock, 2002; Smock, 2000). In the United States, well over half of couples cohabit before getting married (Bumpass, Sweet, & Cherlin, 1991; Stanley, Whitton, & Markman, 2004). Some researchers conjecture that couples see cohabitation as a “trial run” for marriage (Bumpass et al., 1991; Cohan & Kleinbaum, 2002; Popenoe & Whitehead, 2002), and one survey indicated that 61% of young adults believe that cohabitation improves one’s chances in marriage (Johnson et al., 2002). Despite this commonsense view that cohabi- tation provides a useful test for compatibility, data suggest that, if anything, premarital cohabitation is associated with negative marital outcomes (the “cohabitation effect”). For example, premarital cohabitation (cohabitation that is fol- lowed by marriage to the same partner) is associated with higher rates of divorce in many Western countries (DeMaris & Rao, 1992; Hall & Zhao, 1995; Kieran, 2002). In the United States, premarital cohabitation is also associated with lower marital satisfaction (Brown & Booth, 1996; Stanley et al., in press), lower interpersonal commitment among men (Stanley et al., in press), poorer perceived and observed communication in marriage (Cohan & Kleinbaum, 2002; DeMaris & Leslie, 1984), higher marital conflict (Thomson & Colella, 1992), higher rates of wife infidelity (Forste & Tanfer, 1996), and higher perceived likelihood of divorce (Thomson & Colella, 1992). The cohabitation literature is beset by controversy as to why negative marital outcomes arise for some couples who cohabit before marriage. The dominant perspective is that selection effects are operating such that the differences in the marital outcomes of those who cohabit premaritally and those who do not are due to preexisting characteristics of the individuals rather than the cohabitation experience itself. For example, controlling for several selection factors (i.e., religiosity, number of previous marriages, education level, presence of children, and age) has been shown to eliminate the significant relationship between premarital cohabitation and marital instability (DeMaris & Leslie, 1984; Lillard, Brien, & Waite, 1995; Woods & Emery, 2002). Also, some theory and data suggest a causal effect of cohabitation. For example, there is evidence that cohabitation causes changes in attitudes about marriage and relationships (Axinn & Barber, 1997; Axinn & Thornton, 1992; DeMaris & Leslie, 1984; Hall & Zhao, 1995; Magdol, Moffitt, & Caspi, 1998; Thomson & Colella, 1992), and these changes may lead to lower marital satisfaction. Galena H. Kline, Scott M. Stanley, Howard J. Markman, P. Antonio Olmos-Gallo, Michelle St. Peters, Sarah W. Whitton, and Lydia M. Prado, Department of Psychology, University of Denver. Support for this research and for preparation of this article was provided in part by a grant (5-RO1-MH35525-12) from the Na- tional Institute of Mental Health, Division of Services and Inter- vention Research, Adult and Geriatric Treatment and Prevention Branch (awarded to Howard J. Markman, Scott M. Stanley, and Lydia M. Prado). We wish to thank the couples who participated in this research for their dedication to our project. In addition, we wish to thank several anonymous reviewers for their excellent advice in revising the article. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Galena H. Kline, University of Denver, Department of Psychol- ogy, 2155 South Race Street, Denver, CO 80208. E-mail: gakline@du.edu Journal of Family Psychology Copyright 2004 by the American Psychological Association 2004, Vol. 18, No. 2, 311–318 0893-3200/04/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.18.2.311 311