The purpose of this study was to discover if cohabitation is associated with higher incidence of relationship dissolution in comparison to marriage among African American women with children. I examined sociodemographic characteristics, relationship attributes, personal traits, and social network characteristics as predictors of dissolution in both groups. Participants were 268 married and 89 cohabiting African Americans who were the primary caregiver of a 10 to 12-year old child at the first of three waves of data collection. Results showed that cohabiters' relationships were twice as likely to end as were the relationships of marrieds over the five-year follow-up period. Cohabiters were characterized by higher levels of sociodemographic disadvantage, lower levels of relationship quality, and personal traits that are more likely to cause difficulties in close relationships. Sociodemographic characteristics and personal traits each notably decreased the association of relationship status with subsequent relationship dissolution. This suggests that the sociodemographic and personal characteristics of cohabiters may partially explain higher dissolution rates among cohabiting versus married couples.