NRFC 

Quick Statistics 

2007 

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse  101 Lake Forest Boulevard, Suite 360  Gaithersburg, MD 20877 

 Toll-free: 1 (877) 4DAD411  Fax: (301) 948-4325  www.fatherhood.gov 

Fathers and Cohabitation 

Percent of Poor, Unmarried Mothers and Fathers That Agree with Statements Regarding 

Cohabitation for Parents with Children Born 1998-2000 

Mothers Fathers 

Cohabiting Produces Benefits of 

Marriage 58% 66% 

Cohabiting Without Marriage Okay 66% 78% 

Cohabiting Reduces Chances of 

Divorce 55% 66% 

Single Parent Can Raise Child as 

Well as Married Couple 87% 64% 

Source: Mincy, Ron et al. Fragile Families in Focus: Executive Summary. Chart VIII. Baton Rogue, LA: 

TANF Executive Office of Oversight and Evaluation, 2004: 12. 

Note: Analyses use data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study which is representative of all non-marital births and 

nearly representative of marital births in U.S. cities with populations over 200,000. 

• More than three quarters of poor unmarried fathers (78 percent) believe that cohabiting 

without marriage is okay. Mothers are also likely to agree with this statement but less so 

than fathers (66 percent). 

• More than two-thirds of poor, unmarried parents agree that a single parent can raise a 

child as well as a married couple. Fathers, however, are less likely to agree with this 

statement than mothers (64 percent for fathers and 87 percent for mothers). 

• More than half of poor unmarried fathers (66 percent) agree that cohabiting reduces the 

chances of divorce. 

Percentage of Adults Ages 18 to 65 who Agree or Strongly Agree That it is All Right for a 

Couple to Live Together without Intending to get Married, 

by Parental Status: 1994 & 1998 

Males Females 

1994 1998 1994 1998 

Total 49 51 37 38 

Parent 40 44 35 32 

Nonparent 66 64 47 57 

Note: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1994 and 1998 General Social Surveys. 

Source: Child Trends. (2002). "Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and Mothers." Washington, D.C.: Child Trends. 
 

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Fathers and Cohabitation 

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Responses to the Statement, “A young couple should not live together unless they are 

married,” Among Men Ages 15-44, by Age, 2002 

Number 

(000s) 

Strongly 

Agree Agree 

Neither 

agree 

nor 

disagree Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree

All (15-44 

years) 61,147 9.0% 23.1% 2.1% 52.6% 13.3% 

15-19 years 10,208 7.3% 25.0% .9% 55.1% 11.7% 

20-24 years 9,883 8.8% 18.7% 1.2% 55.9% 15.5% 

25-29 years 9,226 8.5% 23.5% 1.5% 51.6% 14.8% 

30-34 years 10,138 10.5% 22.2% 2.6% 49.9% 14.8% 

35-39 years 10,557 8.2% 27.1% 3.5% 50.3% 10.9% 

40-44 years 11,135 10.4% 21.7% 2.6% 52.6% 12.7% 

Source: Martinez GM, Chandra A., Abma JC, Jones J, Mosher WD. Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and 

Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 

23(26). 2006. 

• In 2002, nearly two-thirds (65.9 percent) of men ages 15-44 disagreed or strongly 

disagreed with the statement, “a young couple should not live together unless they are 

married.” 

• About one in the three men (32.1 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that couples should 

not live together unless married. 

• Men’s attitudes regarding cohabitation did not differ greatly across age groups. 
 

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Responses to the Statement, “A young couple should not live together unless they are 

married,” Among Men Ages 22-44, by Educational Attainment, 2002 

Number 

(000s) 

Strongly 

Agree Agree 

Neither 

agree 

nor 

disagree

Disagre

e 

Strongly 

Disagre

e 

All* 61,147 9.0% 23.1% 2.1% 52.6% 13.3% 

No high school 

diploma or GED 6,355 5.2% 31.1% 3.7% 49.7% 10.3% 

High school 

diploma or GED 15,659 10.0% 24.3% 2.4% 51.9% 11.4% 

Some college, no 

bachelor’s degree 13,104 10.8% 22.1% 1.9% 53.7% 11.6% 

Bachelor’s degree 

or higher 11,901 10.4% 17.9% 2.2% 49.8% 19.7% 

*Education data is limited to men aged 22-44, “All” category includes men 15-44. 

Source: Martinez GM, Chandra A., Abma JC, Jones J, Mosher WD. Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and 

Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. National Center for Health Statistics. 

Vital Health Stat 23(26). 2006. 

• In 2002, nearly two-thirds (65.9 percent) of men ages 15-44 disagreed or strongly 

disagreed with the statement, “a young couple should not live together unless they are 

married.” 

• Men with higher levels of education appear to be more supportive of cohabitation but 

differences are small. 

Responses to the Statement, “A young couple should not live together unless they are 

married,” Among Men Ages 15-44, by Race/Ethnicity, 2002 

Number 

(000s) 

Strongl

y Agree Agree 

Neither 

agree 

nor 

disagre

e 

Disagre

e 

Strongl

y 

Disagre

e 

All* 61,147 9.0% 23.1% 2.1% 52.6% 13.3% 

Hispanic or Latino 10,188 7.5% 32.6% 2.3% 48.7% 9.0% 

Non-Hispanic 

White 38,738 8.8% 19.1% 2.1% 54.4% 15.6% 

Non-Hispanic 

Black 6,940 10.7% 27.0% 1.9% 51.4% 9.1% 

*Includes men of other or multiple race and origin groups and not shown separately. 

Source: Martinez GM, Chandra A., Abma JC, Jones J, Mosher WD. Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and 

Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. National Center for Health Statistics. 

Vital Health Stat 23(26). 2006. 

• In 2002, nearly two-thirds (65.9 percent) of men ages 15-44 disagreed or strongly 

disagreed with the statement, “a young couple should not live together unless they are 

married.” 
 

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Fathers and Cohabitation 

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• Seven out of ten non-Hispanic white men (70 percent) disagreed or strongly disagreed 

with the statement that couples should not live together unless married, slightly higher 

than other racial/ethnic groups. 

• Among Hispanic men, 40.1 percent agreed or strongly agreed that couples should not 

live together outside of marriage, slightly higher than other racial/ethnic groups. 

Responses to the Statement, “A young couple should not live together unless they are 

married,” Among Men Ages 15-44, 

by Reported Importance of Religion in their Lives, 2002 

Number 

(000s) 

Strongly 

Agree Agree 

Neither 

agree 

nor 

disagree Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree

All* 61,147 9.0% 23.1% 2.1% 52.6% 13.3% 

Very important 23,586 18.0% 36.9% 2.4% 36.2% 6.5% 

Somewhat 

important 20,010 3.9% 18.4% 2.1% 63.6% 12.0% 

Not important 17,403 2.6% 9.7% 1.6% 61.9% 24.2% 

*Includes men with missing information on importance of religion 

Source: Martinez GM, Chandra A., Abma JC, Jones J, Mosher WD. Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and 

Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. National Center for Health Statistics. 

Vital Health Stat 23(26). 2006. 

• In 2002, nearly two-thirds (65.9 percent) of men ages 15-44 disagreed or strongly 

disagreed with the statement, “a young couple should not live together unless they are 

married.” 

• Over half of men (54.9 percent) who report religion as being very important agreed or 

strongly agreed that couples should not live together unless they are married. This is 

true for only 12.3 percent of men who report that religion is not important. 

• Nearly 7 in 8 men (86.1 percent) who rate religion as not important disagreed or strongly 

disagreed with the statement that couples should not live together unless they are 

married. 
 

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Fathers and Cohabitation 

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Number of Unmarried Couple Households by Presence of Children Under Age 15, 

1960-2000 

1960 1970 1980 1985 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 

Total number of 

unmarried couple 

households (000s) 439 523 1,589 1,983 2,856 3,308 3,661 3,958 4,236 4,736 

Number of 

unmarried couple 

households with 

children under 15 

years 197 196 431 603 891 1,121 1,270 1,442 1,520 1,675 

Percent total 

unmarried couples 

households with 

children under 15 

years 44.9% 37.4% 27.1% 30.4% 31.3% 33.8% 34.6% 36.4% 35.9% 35.4% 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Reports, P20-537. Table UC-1. Washington, DC.: U.S. Census Bureau, 2001 in 

(2002). Father Facts 4. Gaithersburg, MD: National Fatherhood Initiative. Pg 76. 

• The total number of unmarried couple households and unmarried couple households 

with children under 15 years increased between 1960 and 2000. 

• The percentage of total unmarried couple households with children under 15 years 

decreased between 1960 and 1980 and then increased from 1980 to 2000. 

• In 2000, about one in three (35.4 percent) unmarried couple households had children 

under 15 years of age.