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Is cohabitation before marriage a good idea?

Heisenberg 2012/04/16 14:13:17
Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
No, cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea
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Is cohabitation before marriage a good idea?



Cohabitation in the United States has increased by more than 1,500 percent in the past half century. In 1960, about 450,000 unmarried couples lived together. Now the number is more than 7.5 million. The majority of young adults in their 20s will live with a romantic partner at least once, and more than half of all marriages will be preceded by cohabitation. This shift has been attributed to the sexual revolution and the availability of birth control, and in our current economy, sharing the bills makes cohabiting appealing. But when you talk to people in their 20s, you also hear about something else: cohabitation as prophylaxis



But that belief is contradicted by experience. Couples who cohabit before marriage (and especially before an engagement or an otherwise clear commitment) tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not. These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect.

Researchers originally attributed the cohabitation effect to selection, or the idea that cohabitors were less conventional about marriage and thus more open to divorce. As cohabitation has become a norm, however, studies have shown that the effect is not entirely explained by individual characteristics like religion, education or politics. Research suggests that at least some of the risks may lie in cohabitation itself.



Is cohabitation before marriage a good idea?

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/t...

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Top Opinion

  • Heisenberg 2012/04/16 14:14:33
    No, cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea
    Heisenberg
    +7
    The evidence seems to suggest that cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea.

    I will probably wait so that the pleasure of living with me is a surprise to my wife.

    shacking up

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  • Tony 2012/05/14 13:27:32
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    Tony
    +2
    Truth be told, you kinda have to. if anything just to be able to establish a home for yourselves is more difficult today then it was years ago. also gives you a chance to work out any rough edges and determine if you can spend the next 50 some odd years with that one person.
  • stevegt... Tony 2012/05/15 15:26:52
    stevegtexas@aol.com
    +2
    good point!
  • POWERSHAKER 2012/05/14 02:41:46
    No, cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea
    POWERSHAKER
    +1
    No. If you're going to live together, you might as well get married.
  • stevegt... POWERSH... 2012/05/15 15:27:16 (edited)
    stevegtexas@aol.com
    +1
    marriage is kinda like icing on the cake to me......its like the last stop on the long road to commitment thanx!
  • none 2012/05/14 02:34:17
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    none
    +1
    It's a good idea to learn as much as you can about someone before you get to the point of living the rest of your life with them.
  • Diana 2012/05/13 22:54:11
    No, cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea
    Diana
    +1
    They never did it years ago.Now they do it before marriage,but the divorce rate is
    high.Explain that.
  • jake 2012/05/13 22:19:27
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    jake
    +1
    There are some couples that know it's right and when they live together, they are already more or less married emotionally. For those couples, it wouldn't matter if they lived together or not, they would just work. And for the couples that might need to synch with each other, cohabitation is a good idea.
  • Betty 2012/05/13 21:22:30
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    Betty
    +2
    Even though my grandmother said she never slept with grandfather till after they were married or lived together. I have to say yes live together first! It's not like it used to be.
  • Jack's Pearl 2012/05/13 21:05:17
    No, cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea
    Jack's Pearl
    +2
    "Trying it out" as people say is not a time to move in together. I did it once and it made the break up all the more difficult. I also had the experience of just "knowing" it was right with my husband and we never moved in with the idea of "testing the waters." We got married because of our belief in our relationship and it has gone well. So if you don't feel like getting married, wait on moving in. Don't experiment with that. It's very difficult.
  • stevegt... Jack's ... 2012/05/15 15:29:03
    stevegtexas@aol.com
    +1
    thanx!
  • Brosia 2012/05/13 20:59:44
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    Brosia
    +2
    I love my husband. I love him more everyday. In the early days of our marriage, I was pregnant and extra moody, and I had a very hard time dealing with all his weird habits. If his mother would have allowed it (don't even ask), I would have had him move in with me shortly after we got engaged.
  • stevegtexas@aol.com 2012/04/26 16:41:28
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    stevegtexas@aol.com
    +1
    yes, cohabitation before marriage can be good...not always of course, theres that "predicatability factor!" When i dated my last wife, things were great, when we moved in together it was great....but when we got married and started working toghether in the same building....she was not as willing to have a good working relationship and gave up on our marriage after i lost my job (not long after). married couple funny
  • Ken 2012/04/21 03:59:42 (edited)
    No, cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea
    Ken
    +2
    It fails too often. But hey, that's how our stingy meme society works today.
  • apostate 2012/04/19 13:36:27
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    apostate
    +2
    I think that it is a test to see the strength of compatibility between the living habits of two people.
  • lucky 2012/04/18 16:45:14
    No, cohabitation before marriage is not a good idea
    lucky
    +1
    Not sure, whether you live together or not before marriage, marriage still changes you, in some ways Id think it would set up people for unrealistic expectations, they will think that just because it worked when they were not married but living together would mean that once they are married it will stay the same but it doesnt, it never does, marriage isnt just about being able to live with someone.
  • Amy ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥ 2012/04/18 15:36:21
    Yes, cohabitation before marriage is a good idea
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +3
    u wouldn't buy a car without test driving it... would u ???
  • stevegt... Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/26 16:43:35
    stevegtexas@aol.com
    +2
    funny example! some people date well....but when they live together, cant do it eh?
  • Amy ♥ ... stevegt... 2012/04/26 16:45:58
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 12:58:57
    Guido
    +2
    You can do that??
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 13:13:36
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +1
    do what?
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 13:17:41
    Guido
    +2
    Drive car around tear up the tires run it out of gas and just park it without buying it...
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 14:06:50
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    lol I suppose...
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 14:07:44
    Guido
    +1
    GREAT NEWS
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 14:17:06
    Guido
    +2
    So what kind of machine is this...fast, slow, maybe sleek and sporty
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 14:20:25
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    idk about u but this is mine red ranger xlt
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 14:25:00
    Guido
    +2
    I might buy it...the perfect redskins color...I like it.. definitely sporty…Do you know what the owner needs
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 14:29:16
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    acckk!!! redskins ... geeze... Its Victory Red .... and since I own it... Id say if I need ne thing it would be to trade in my ice scraper for a squeegie
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 14:33:55
    Guido
    +2
    OK I have a squeegie we can trade for.... do you want to test squeegie with first or just buy it.. It's Lion blue
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 14:39:29
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    U wanna trade something for a squeegie?? is it used?
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 14:41:23
    Guido
    +2
    Not used up
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 14:54:03
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    lol ....
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 14:56:38
    Guido
    +2
    just barely broken in...
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 14:57:21
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    Do u have a pic of it?
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 14:59:45
    Guido
    +2
    Some of my friends do...I'll see what I can do
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 15:34:25
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    ok thanks lol... cant trade that sight unseen ya know
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 15:39:53
    Guido
    +2
    You can keep the victory red truck... if you want the squeegie I have to bring it. It's complicated but I need to make sure it's in good hands.
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 16:06:05
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    I dont plan on not having my truck, I kind of love my truck!
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 16:08:04
    Guido
    +2
    I'm sure your perfect with your truck and beautiful inside and out of it. I won't test drive the truck..
  • Amy ♥ ... Guido 2012/04/27 16:28:59
    Amy  ♥ HELL HATH NO FURY ♥
    +2
    oh honey lol... I am so far from perfect ... Im not even in the same area code as perfect... ty for thinking so
  • Guido Amy ♥ ... 2012/04/27 16:32:13
    Guido
    +2
    Perfect is like art... it's in the eye of the beholder...me

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