Cohabitation Dissolution and Distress

Sarah A. Avellar, University of Michigan

Although divorce has repeatedly been shown to have a distressing effect on those involved, the mental health consequences of the end of cohabitation have largely been ignored. Heterosexual cohabitation has dramatically increased in prevalence, such that now it is largely a normative experience, even preceding the majority of new marriages. Cohabitation also shares some of the features of marriage, such as living arrangements and sexual intimacy, and thus like marriage, its loss may be felt profoundly. However, until now the aftermath of dissolution in terms of individual well-being has been unexamined. In this paper, I investigate the effect of ending a cohabiting relationship on two facets of distress: depression and alcohol abuse. I have the advantage of longitudinal, nationally representative data to explore this largely untapped issue.