More reasons why people should not cohabitate.
Out of Wedlock Births and Single-Parent Families
• Unmarried mothers and children from unmarried homes are likely to be in poverty or near the poverty level for an extended period of time.36
• Women raising children out of wedlock are less likely to find a marriageable mate than single, childless women.37
• Children of single parents are more likely to engage in high-risk relationships and high-risk behaviors at an earlier age, than children raised by a married mother and father.38
Cohabitating Couples and Unmarried Families
• Greater rates of unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and dysfunctional relationship behavior (domestic abuse, unfaithfulness, high amounts of conflict) exist in cohabiting relationships.39
• Couples living together before marriage have a greater rate of divorce than those who did not live together.40
• Over one-third of all cohabiting relationships involve kids. These children are at greater risk to be physically and/or sexually abused, and they are more likely to repeat the high risk relationship behaviors of their parent(s).41
Research has shown that both divorce and unmarried childbearing decrease the economic well being of both children and mothers. Only 9% of children under six in two-parent households are poor, while 47% of those living in single-mother households live in poverty.42 More specifically, 45% of children raised by divorced mothers and 69% raised by never-married mothers live in or near poverty.43 One analysis found that nearly 80% of child poverty occurs in broken or never-formed families, and it concludes that more marriages could reduce poverty by as much as 25%.44
When compared to children in two-parent households, evidence reveals that children in one-parent households are affected in additional negative ways.
The benefits of marriage for both men and women include:
· lower mortality rates,
· lower rates of chronic illnesses or disabilities,
· higher ratings of one’s own health,
· less depression, anxiety and suicide,
· less problem drinking and substance abuse,
· greater financial well-being, and
· lower rates of intimate partner violence.57
Another advantage of marriage is that it can also result in higher levels of paternal involvement with the family and assistance with childcare responsibilities.58
It is important to note that these superior outcomes do not accompany cohabitation. Cohabiting relationships are far less stable than marriages. Cohabiters experience less emotional and financial success and higher rates of domestic violence. As noted before, marriages following cohabitation are more likely to end in divorce than those not preceded by cohabitation.59 Over one-third of cohabiting relationships involve kids,60 and children living with cohabiting couples have more behavior problems and lower academic performance than children in married-couple families.61
Even though marriage offers benefits that cohabitation does not, two-thirds of American teens (67%) believe that it is better to live with someone prior to marriage to determine compatibility.62 The majority of teens (59%) also expect to cohabit themselves.63
Certain relationship behaviors of some young people typically do not lead to lifelong commitment.
· Currently, 40% of young women have “hooked up” (engaged in a physical encounter with a male with no commitment attached).64
· The earlier and more frequently teens engage in sexual activities, the more prone they are to acquire an STD, get pregnant, get raped or abused, and use drugs and alcohol. They are also less likely to marry and more prone to future infidelity and divorce.65
· The higher the frequency of relationship break-ups, the greater chances of susceptibility to divorce in the future.66
More information available:
familyministries.org/www.inthespiritofcana.org/appendix_O.htm
