COUPLES BEFORE MARRIAGE

Couples Living Together Before Marriage

Abstract

Research suggests that couples who live together before marriage have marriages that are less stable and less satisfactory than couples who marry without living together first. It is believed that the characteristics that lead people to select cohabitation are the same characteristics that lead them to report lower levels of relationship satisfaction and stability.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Discussion1

Disadvantages of Cohabitation2

Conclusion3

Reference5

Couples Living Together Before Marriage

Introduction

Many previous studies have found premarital cohabitation to be detrimental to marriage or to have a negative association with relationship success. However, researchers are debating the causal nature of this phenomenon. It has been suggested that characteristics or experiences that existed for cohabiters before making the decision to cohabit may reduce the association between premarital cohabitation and later marital problems. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the association between selecting premarital cohabitation over marriage as a first union (as an aspect of relationship history) and current relationship success.

Discussion

Any discussion of marriage in American society must address the issue of cohabitation. Although it was considered taboo for previous generations, cohabitation has come to be a popular living arrangement in Western societies. Nearly fifty percent of Americans in their twenties and thirties have cohabited, and fifty-six percent of women who got married in the early 1990's cohabited before marriage. Nearly a fourth of unmarried people between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-four are cohabiting at any given time.

The number of cohabiting couples of all ages increased 46% between 1990 and 1997. These numbers are expected to continue to rise since young adults are more likely than older adults to believe that it is acceptable for an unmarried couple with no marriage plans to live together. Recent trends show that each new generation is more likely to make the decision to cohabit than previous generations.

Disadvantages of Cohabitation

The strongest gender differences emerged in the perceived disadvantages associated with cohabitation. Simply put, for women, cohabitation is seen as entailing less commitment and legitimacy than marriage. For men, the perceived disadvantages of cohabitation revolve around limitations on their freedom when compared with singlehood. These differences are notable in that they suggest that women tend to link cohabitation more closely to marriage than men whether they are thinking about the positive aspects of cohabitation or possible reasons to avoid cohabitation. For women more so than for men, marriage is the standard by which relationships are ...