ABSTRACT
Cohabitation has become a dominant family form in the United States, one that is increasingly likely to include children (Smock, 2000). Two fifths of children will likely spend some time in a cohabiting family (Bumpass & Lu, 2000). Yet children's experiences in cohabiting families are often short-lived (Manning, Smock, & Majumdar, 2004; Raley & Wildsmith, 2004). Researchers have begun to examine how cohabiting parents influence the well-being of children. However, to date, much of the research uses snapshot or static measures of family structure rather than measures encompassing cumulative childhood experiences.
