Cohabitation Research Paper Example

Cohabitation is defined as a living arrangement in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term relationship that resembles a marriage. There has been a major increase in couples who cohabitate before marriage. According to the National Center for Family and Marriage Research, between 2010 and 2013, 69% of women cohabitated before marriage. On the contrary, only 11% of women cohabitated before marriage between 1965 and 1974 (1). In about 50 years, women who cohabitate before marriage has gone up 58% percent. 

There are many reasons why people move in together before marriage. With this significant increase, many believe cohabitation is a vital thing to do. However, there are many disadvantages. Married couples who cohabitate before marriage are more likely to divorce. Children born to unmarried couples will be at a disadvantage. There are many legal and financial disadvantages as well. These are reasons people should not cohabitate before marriage. 

Unmarried couples are legally and financially at a disadvantage. Two-thirds of cohabiters who want to get married someday cite either their own or their partner’s finances as a reason why they are not engaged or married (pewresearch.org). Not only are cohabitating couples less likely to get married because of financial reasons, but this affects their legal benefits if they were to split while still unmarried. Common-Law Marriage is a union of two people not formalized in the customary manner as prescribed by law but created by an agreement to marry followed by cohabitation (legal-dictionary.com). Only 14 states plus the District of Columbia recognize cohabitating couples through Common-Law Marriage. In simpler terms, it gives cohabitating couples legal protection and the financial benefits of marriage. Therefore, these couples can go to court and have a legal proceeding if they split. However, the other 36 states do not recognize this law. This means that cohabitating couples are not legally entitled to anything. For example, if a couple shares a lease or a car, they would have to decide on the splitting of items themselves. This also applies to finances, such as joint bank accounts. These can be serious conflicts, especially if the relationship did not end on good terms. Cohabiting parents may also face legal difficulties if they separate without a written parenting agreement (law.jrank.org).

Children born to unmarried couples will not have the same rights as children born to married couples. An unmarried father must acknowledge paternity by filing an affidavit with the state legitimating his child and establishing his parental relationship(legal-dictionary.com). Married parents have an automatic claim to visitation or custody of children in case of dissolution. However, for cohabiting parents to have a legitimate claim, they both must be actively participating in the child’s life. There is also a major problem when a father passes without establishing a will. In most states, children born from an unmarried couple need to establish paternity before inheriting from the father (purposedrivenlawyers.com).

There are many more problems that play into children with unmarried parents. Author Mary Parke writes for The Center for Law and Social Policy. She wrote a case brief study, “Are Married Parents Really Better for Children?” Parke used research from a variety of national databases/sets and multiple doctors and psychologists. In this study, she provides chilling facts about children with married parents vs. unmarried parents. Children born from cohabitating couples get categorized with children of never-married mothers. According to Parke, who used the data from the U.S bureau, “Children of never-married mothers are at risk of experiencing negative outcomes and are among those most likely to live in poverty. Roughly 69 percent of children of never-married mothers are poor, compared to 45 percent of children brought up by divorced single mothers” (4). Since unmarried couples have a higher risk of instability, “Research suggests that children in cohabiting families are at higher risk of poor outcomes compared to children of married parents partly because cohabiting families have fewer socioeconomic resources and partly because of unstable living situations'' (5). Also, children who have unmarried parents are roughly twice as likely to be poor, to have a birth outside of marriage, to have behavioral and psychological problems, and to not graduate from high school (2). Just because children live with cohabiting parents does not mean that these outcomes will be their future. Yet, this research suggests a substantial increase in risk for these children. Does the risk outweigh the result?

The biggest reason people cohabitate before marriage is because they believe it is a step towards marriage. The expression often used is, “you have to test drive the car before you buy it.” According to PEW Research Center, 44% of cohabitating adults who were not engaged when they moved in together saw it as a step towards marriage. In 2001, the National Marriage Project conducted a nationwide survey about cohabitation. Nearly half of those in their 20s agreed with the statement, “You would only marry someone if he or she agreed to live together with you first so that you could find out whether you really get along” (familylawheadquarters.com). However, when looking at many studies, couples who cohabit before marriage actually tend to make less of a commitment.

 Psychologists Galena K. Rhoades and Scott M. Stanley provided the thesis on the “Cohabitation effect”. This is the idea that cohabitating couples were less orthodox about marriage and increased acceptance of divorce. These researchers found that more women tend to view cohabitation as a step toward marriage. As opposed to men, who see it as a way to test a relationship or postpone a commitment. This difference in perspective leads to a lower level of commitment even after marriage(Kirk C. Stange). The cohabitation effect also states that couples who cohabitate first are less satisfied with their marriage and are more likely to divorce.

The National Center for Health Statistics reported only 40% of cohabiting couples get married, 27% of those marriages end in divorce in the first 3 years (dukeupress.edu). This information is consistent with Rhoades and Stanley's hypothesis. Cohabitating changes the attitude towards marriage, making people less likely to commit to marriage and more open to divorce(psychologytoday.com). The main cause for this is inertia. Inertia is the tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. This means that it is harder to break up once moving in together, despite any dedication or commitment to a future relationship. Cohabiting couples are more inclined to stay together, even if they are not satisfied in their relationship. Rhodes and Stanley argue that this is why only 40% of cohabiting couples even get married. This also plays into the 27% of those who divorce in the first 3 years.  

There are also political, educational, and religious reasons why people do not cohabitate before marriage. Those factors vary on a specific person, so they are not the sole problem of cohabitation. The problem is within cohabitation itself. Despite someone's political, educational, and religious background, unmarried couples will still be at a legal and financial disadvantage. Their children will not seek the same benefits as opposed to if they were married. Finally, the chance of cohabiting couples being satisfied in their relationship decreases, and the chances of divorce increases. Overall, people should truly consider not cohabiting before marriage.