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Publication #FAR3040

 

Cohabitation among Older Adults1

Suzanna Smith2

Figure 1. 
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Most of the time when we think about cohabiting couples, we imagine younger adults who are living together before they get married, or instead of marrying. But, according to the 2000 census, there are more than a million individuals over the age of 50 who are cohabiting, and this number is increasing as baby boomers reach their 50s and 60s.

A recent study conducted by researchers from Bowling Green University used data from the 2000 U.S. Census data and the 1998 Health and Retirement Study to find out more about older cohabiting couples. In contrast with young cohabitors who tend to live together before they marry, about 90% of older cohabitors were previously married.

In addition, this research compared older cohabitors with individuals who were remarried, divorced, and never married. Older cohabitors, especially women, appeared to be more disadvantaged in some ways. They had lower incomes and were less likely to own their own homes when compared to remarried persons. Additionally, cohabiting women's income was only about two-thirds the income of remarried women, and cohabiting women were three times less likely to have health insurance. Cohabitors were more likely than remarrieds to use alcohol.

There are still many unknowns about older cohabitors as this is a relatively new phenomenon affecting large numbers of people. However, researchers are already exploring the strengths and weaknesses of these new families and how men and women choose to share their later years.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

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References

Brown SL, GR Lee, and JR Bulanda. 2006. “Cohabitation among Older Adults: A National Portrait.” Center for Family and Demographic Research. Bowling Green State University. Working Paper Series 2005-06. http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/cas/file35697.pdf [April 13, 2012].

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. “The significance of nonmarital cohabitation: marital status and mental health benefits among middle-aged and older adults.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15643043 [April 13, 2012].

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR3040, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 490 in August 2006. Published on EDIS July 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Suzanna Smith, associate professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.