Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Extensive research has found that marriage provides health benefits to individuals, particularly in the U. The rise of cohabitation, however, raises questions about whether simply being in an intimate co-residential partnership conveys the same health benefits as marriage.
Here, we use OLS regression to compare differences between partnered and unpartnered, and cohabiting and married individuals with respect to self-rated health in mid-life, an understudied part of the lifecourse. We pay particular attention to selection mechanisms arising in childhood and characteristics of the partnership. We compare results in five countries with different social, economic, and policy contexts: the U. NLSY , U. Results show that living with a partner is positively associated with self-rated health in mid-life in all countries, but that controlling for children, prior separation, and current socio-economic status eliminates differences in Germany and Norway.
Significant differences between cohabitation and marriage are only evident in the U. The findings suggest that cohabitation in the U. The results challenge the assumption that only marriage is beneficial for health. Extensive research has found that marriage provides health benefits to individuals e. Health benefits may accrue due to the protective effects of marriage, which often boosts economic resources Waite and Gallagher , provides social and emotional support Ross et al.
The rise of cohabitation, however, and its similarity to marriage in form and function, raises questions about whether simply being in an intimate co-residential partnership conveys the same health benefits as marriage Musick and Bumpass ; Wu and Hart Some research indicates that cohabitation is becoming similar to marriage, for example, as a way to start co-residential partnerships and a setting for having and raising children Perelli-Harris et al.
Indeed, cohabitation is a heterogeneous type of union that includes short-term dating-like relationships, couples who are on their way to marriage, and long-term partnerships indistinguishable from marriage Hiekel et al. As a result, cohabiting unions, especially if they are of longer duration and involve childrearing, may provide many of the same advantages to health that marriage does, despite the lack of legal recognition. Nonetheless, prior studies have found that on average cohabitation and marriage differ along several dimensions.
