One idea often discerned centers around this question: should couples cohabit to see if they are
compatible? Doesn't it seems
reasonable that cohabitation would offer a good preview of marriage?.
However, sociologists have discovered that the “expectation of a positive
relationship between cohabitation and marital stability . . . has
been shattered in recent years by studies conducted in several Western
countries.” (William
G. Axinn and Arland Thornton, "The Relation Between Cohabitation and
Divorce: Selectivity or Casual Influence?" Demography 29, 1992, 357-374).
So- the data show that if one wants a successful
marriage, one is better off living together after the wedding. Why
is that?
· Numerous sociological studies
reveal that if you want a happy marriage, you’re better off moving in together
after the wedding. The research findings:
-
Most couples who
live together never get married, but those who do have a divorce rate up
to 80 percent higher than those who waited until after the wedding to live
together.
-
Couples who
cohabited prior to marriage also have greater marital conflict and poorer
communication, and they make more frequent visits to marriage counselors.
-
Women who cohabited
before marriage are more than three times as likely as women who did not
to cheat on their husbands within marriage.
-
The U.S. Justice
Department found that women who cohabit are sixty-two times more likely to
be assaulted by a live-in boyfriend than by a husband.
-
Women who cohabit
are more than three times as likely to be depressed as married women.
-
Cohabiting
couples are less sexually satisfied than those who waited for
marriage.
If one dreams of a marriage "until
death do us part," amd of marital peace, fidelity, physical safety,
emotional well being, and sexual satisfaction, cohabitation is clearly not
a recipe for happiness. Even USA Today reported, “Could this be true love? Test it with courtship, not cohabitation.”
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