Comparing Premaritally Pregnant Couples and Demographically Matched Nonpregnant Controls on Recalled Relationship Progression and Marital Outcomes

ABSTRACT Prior reviews suggest that premarital pregnancies are deleterious to couples' relationship quality and stability. However, outcomes of premarital pregnancy may be confounded with socioeconomic factors. Study 1 (1) compared demographically matched premaritally pregnant and nonpregnant couples on partners' recalled courtship trajectories of commitment to marriage and milestone occurrence (e.g., first sex, feeling love) and marital outcomes (satisfaction and disillusionment); (2) examined how partners' commitment‐trajectory similarity was linked to their milestone attainment and marital outcomes; and (3) investigated how familism relates to premarital pregnancy and relationship progression. Using a predominantly Hispanic local sample, we compared 47 premaritally pregnant and 47 demographically matched nonpregnant newlywed couples on mean levels of key variables and on correlations among them. Pregnant and nonpregnant couples exhibited similar timing and correlates of milestone attainment. Partners' commitment‐trajectory similarity was more important for reaching milestones than was premarital pregnancy. Study 2 addressed Study 1's potential selection bias for highly stable couples (because all eventually married) by including only cohabiting couples from a national dataset. Findings likewise showed little difference in relationship quality between cohabiters with and without young children. Hence, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers should consider premaritally pregnant couples' full context of their romantic relationship rather than the pregnancy alone.