This research addresses how past relationships influence the evaluative and interactive dimensions of current relationships. Data from the National Survey of Families and Households are used to examine cohabiting and married relationships. The results show that after controlling for other factors, prior cohabiting relationships negatively influence current married and cohabiting relationships. For marriage, it is cohabitation with someone other than one's current spouse that produces this negative effect. It is suggested that either those who cohabit with someone other than their intended spouse are predisposed to problems in relationships (and they carry these problems into subsequent relationships), or people who have broken off relationships carry the negative effects of failed relationships into later relationships.
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