Cohabitation in Great Britain: not for long, but here to stay

This paper uses a new source of data to study the dramatic increase in coha biting unions in Great Britain. It analyses, in turn, entry into first part nership, the stability of cohabiting unions and repartnering after dissolut ion of cohabitation. In excess of 70% of first partnerships are now cohabit ations, and these last a relatively short time before being either turned i nto marriage or dissolved. The shift to cohabitation as the dominant mode o f first partnership plays an important role in the delay of first marriage and motherhood. The paper also investigates the factors that are associated with the outcome of cohabitations.