Can we predict cohabitation among female undergraduate students? The significance of self-esteem, attitude towards abortion, age and family type

Abstract

A significant increase in non-marital cohabitation among younger people in developing societies hasrecently been reported. Findings on the attributes of cohabiters, particularly of young female cohabiters are scarce. This study embarked on an empirical investigation to appraise attributes that influence cohabitation behaviour of female undergraduate students, with the objective to add to the global cohabitation literature from a uniquely African perspective. The study assesses the strength of self-esteem and attitude towards abortion and other personal characteristics of female undergraduate students to predict cohabitation. Data were collected from full-time unmarried female undergraduate students in a government-funded university in southwest Nigeria. Results provide compelling empirical evidence that high self-esteem and positive attitude towards abortion are important predictors of cohabitation. The study also confirmed that older age is further associated with cohabitation. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: self-esteem, attitude towards abortion, cohabitation, female undergraduate students