College students' perceptions of cohabitation: an exploratory study

The data gathered for this exploratory study on college students perceptions of hererosexual cohabitation support the thesis that college students do tend to view cohabitation as a courtship process. Of those who are currently cohabiting, females more than males tend to rate their own relationships as similar to the going steady phase of courtship.

Background variables, such as sex, religious affiliation, and father's occupation were not found to be significantly related to how students perceive cohabitation. Degree of religiosity was found to be an indicator of how students view cohabitation.

Overall, the basic perceptions of college students on this campus toward cohabitation agree with the major studies done on other college campuses across the country (Macklin, 1972; Croake, Keller and Catlin, 1974; Morrison and Anderson, 1973). That is, it is indeed a new stage in the courtship process, similar to going steady. It is not perceived as a substitute for marriage, a premarital or trial marriage, as was previously thought.