Problems with Cohabitation
...y Olson-Sigg write about the increase in cohabitation in recent years and the effect that is has had on couples. This article aids in the argument against cohabitation. The article describes the reasons that people give to justify their decision to cohabit, such as “less complicated dissolution.” Olson and Olson-Sigg show that these reasons do now overshadow the harmful side effects that occur in the long run. It argues in favor of marriage being preserved as a special institution because it is a better background in which to provide for a family. It describes how cohabitation can cause mistrust and insecurity, especially among women. They eventually begin to feel that the man will leave them because they have no legal commitment. Also discussed in this article are statistics of cohabiting relationships. A 1992 study of 3,300 cases, for example, based on the 1987 National Survey of Families and Households, found that in their marriage prior cohabiters are estimated to have a hazard of dissolution that is about 46% higher than for non-cohabiters. No one should partially commit to someone by cohabiting with them if they are not planning on staying together long enough to be engaged in marriage sometime in the future. Cohabitation seems to be planning for sadness. Research over the last thirty years shows that cohabitation does not lead to increased satisfaction or stability in marriage. The United States Bureau Census has found that cohabiters are 80 percent more likely to become divorced that those who do not live together before marriage. Cohabitation cannot provide or compete with the rewards and benefits of a strong, committed marriage. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, cohabiting women have a depression rate three times higher than non-cohabiting women. People need to know that coha...