Sexual Exclusivity among Dating, Cohabiting, and Married Women

Keywords

Cohabitation, Social dating, Ethnicity, Human sexual behavior, Hispanics, Monogamy, Protestantism, African American education, Catholicism, Bachelors degrees

Abstract

Using sexual exclusivity as an indication of commitment to a partner, we examine commitment within dating, cohabitation, and marriage. Employing data from the National Survey of Women (1991), we find that cohabitation, in terms of sexual commitment, is more similar to dating than marriage, and that cohabitation, relative to marriage is selective of less committed individuals. In addition, limiting our analyses to currently married women, we find that the characteristics emphasized in partner selection by those who cohabit before marriage differ from the characteristics emphasized by those who do not cohabit before marriage, and that these characteristics influence sexual exclusivity among prior cohabitors.

Original Publication Citation

Forste, Renata, and Koray Tanfer. 1996. “Sexual Exclusivity Among Dating, Cohabiting, and Married Women.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 58(1):33-47

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1996-2

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5635

Publisher

Journal of Marriage and Family

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

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