Editing Cohabitation (section)

===Likelihood of split===

Conflicting studies on the effect of cohabitation on subsequent marriage have been published. In countries where the majority of people disapprove of unmarried individuals living together, or a minority of the population cohabits before marriage, marriages resulting from cohabitation are more prone to divorce. But in a study on European countries, those where around half of the population cohabits before marriage, cohabitation is not selective of divorce-prone individuals, and no difference in couples that have cohabited before and after marriage is observed.<ref name="pmid16889125">{{cite journal |vauthors=Liefbroer AC, Dourleijn E |s2cid=13210179 |title=Unmarried cohabitation and union stability: testing the role of diffusion using data from 16 European countries |journal=Demography |year=2006 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=203–221 |pmid=16889125 |doi=10.1353/dem.2006.0018 |doi-access= free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://econpapers.repec.org/article/uwpjhriss/v_3a39_3ay_3a2004_3ai_3a2_3ap523-535.htm |author=Svarer, Michael
|year=2004
|journal=Journal of Human Resources
|title=Is Your Love in Vain? Another Look at Premarital Cohabitation and Divorce
|pages=523–535
|volume=39
|issue=2
|doi=10.2307/3559025|jstor=3559025
}}</ref> In countries such as Italy, the increased risk of marital disruption for people who experienced premarital cohabitation can be entirely attributed to the selection of the most divorce-prone into cohabitation.<ref name="pmid22707812">{{cite journal |vauthors=Impicciatore R, Billari FC |title=Secularization, Union Formation Practices, and Marital Stability: Evidence from Italy. |journal=Eur J Popul |year=2012 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=119–138 |pmid=22707812 |doi=10.1007/s10680-012-9255-4 |pmc=3371187}}</ref>

In 2002, the [[Centers for Disease Control|CDC]] found that for married couples the likelihood percentage of the relationship ending after five years is 20%, for unmarried cohabitators the likelihood percentage is 49%. After 10 years the likelihood percentage for the relationship to end is 33% for married couples and 62% for unmarried cohabitators.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cohabitating and Domestic Partnership.
|work=PsychPage |url=http://www.psychpage.com/family/mod_couples_thx/cohabitation.html |access-date=2023-06-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Report Sheds Light on Trends and Patterns in Marriage, Divorce, and Cohabitation
|date=24 July 2002
|work=National Center for Health Statistics
|publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control]]
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/02news/div_mar_cohab.htm}}</ref> One German study found that in regions with high rates of childbirth to cohabitating parents, no negative effect is observed in cohabitation. The study states "union stability of cohabiting mothers is positively related to their prevalence".<ref name=germanypmc/>

A 2004 study of 136 couples (272 individuals) from researchers at the [[University of Denver]] found differences among couples that cohabited before engagement, after engagement, or not until marriage. The [[longitudinal study]] collected survey data before marriage and 10 months into marriage, with findings suggesting those who cohabit before engagement are at greater risk for poor marital outcomes than those who cohabit only after engagement or at marriage.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |url         = http://cyber.gwc.cccd.edu/faculty/sisonio/timing.pdf
 |journal     = Journal of Family Psychology
 |publisher   = [[American Psychological Association]]
 |title       = Timing Is Everything: Pre-Engagement Cohabitation and Increased Risk for Poor Marital Outcomes
 |author1     = Galena H. Kline
 |author2     = Scott M. Stanley
 |year        = 2004
 |doi         = 10.1037/0893-3200.18.2.311
 |pmid = 15222838
 |volume      = 18
 |issue = 2
 |pages       = 311–318
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120813175600/http://cyber.gwc.cccd.edu/faculty/sisonio/timing.pdf
 |archive-date = 13 August 2012
}}</ref>
A follow-up [[Statistical survey|survey]] by the researches of over 1,000 married men and women married in the past 10 years found those who moved in with a lover before engagement or marriage reported significantly lower quality marriages and a greater possibility of a separation than other couples.<ref name="pmid19203165">{{cite journal |vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |title=The pre-engagement cohabitation effect: a replication and extension of previous findings. |journal=J Fam Psychol |year=2009 |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=107–111 |pmid=19203165 |doi=10.1037/a0014358 |pmc=5956907}}</ref>
About 20% of those who cohabited before getting engaged had since suggested splitting – compared with only 12% of those who only moved in together after getting engaged and 10% who did not cohabit prior to marriage.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news |title=Couples who live together before marriage more likely to get divorced |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=16 July 2009 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5840263/Couples-who-live-together-before-marriage-more-likely-to-get-divorced.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5840263/Couples-who-live-together-before-marriage-more-likely-to-get-divorced.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 

Another 2004 study of 92 couples linked communication to cohabitation and instability. They found that married couples who cohabited before they were married had more negative problem-solving and communication skills. They also found that those who had cohabited expressed more (verbal) aggression throughout their conversations. This negative communication could be contributing to the cohabitation effect and causing a larger amount of marital instability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cohan |first1=Catherine L. |last2=Kleinbaum |first2=Stacey |date=February 2002 |title=Toward a Greater Understanding of the Cohabitation Effect: Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Communication |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |language=en |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=180–192 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00180.x |issn=0022-2445}}</ref>

The researchers from Denver suggest that relationships with pre-engagement cohabitation "may wind up sliding into marriage",<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> whereas those that only cohabit post engagement or marriage make a more clear decision. This could explain their 2006 study of 197 heterosexual couples finding that men who cohabited with their spouse before engagement were less dedicated than men who cohabited only after engagement or not at all before marriage.<ref name="pmid17176189">{{cite journal|vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |s2cid=24707669 |title=Pre-engagement cohabitation and gender asymmetry in marital commitment |journal=J Fam Psychol |year=2006 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=553–560 |doi=10.1037/0893-3200.20.4.553 |pmid=17176189}}</ref>
In some heterosexual couples, women are more likely to understand cohabitation as an intermediary step preceding marriage, and men more likely to perceive it without an explicit connection to marriage.<ref name="Sharon Jayson"/><ref name="pmid21643456">{{cite journal |vauthors=Huang PM, [[Pamela Smock|Smock PJ]], Manning WD, Bergstrom-Lynch CA |title=He Says, She Says: Gender and Cohabitation |journal=J Fam Issues |year=2011 |volume=32 |issue=7 |pages=876–905 |pmid=21643456 |pmc=3106995 |doi=10.1177/0192513X10397601}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|author=Meg Jay|title=The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage
|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 April 2012
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-downside-of-cohabiting-before-marriage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
}}</ref>

An analysis of data from the CDC's [[National Survey of Family Growth]] data from 1988, 1995, and 2002 suggests that the positive relationship between premarital cohabitation and marital instability has weakened for more recent birth and marriage cohorts, as the total number of couples cohabiting before marriage has increased.<ref name="pmid20879685">{{cite journal| vauthors=Reinhold S| title=Reassessing the link between premarital cohabitation and marital instability| journal=Demography| year=2010| volume=47| issue=3| pages=719–733| pmid=20879685| doi=10.1353/dem.0.0122| pmc=3000053}}</ref>

Later CDC work found that between 2002 and 2006-2010, the number of couples in opposite-sex cohabiting relationships increased from 9.0% to 11.2% for women, and from 9.2% to 12.2% for men.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/abc_list_c.htm#chabitation
|title=Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth
|work=National Survey of Family Growth
|publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control]]
}}</ref>
Drawing on the 2006–2008 data, [[Princeton University]] researchers examined whether and to what extent variation in premarital cohabitation experiences influence marital stability. They found that the relationship between cohabitation and marital instability is complex and depends in part on marriage cohort, race/ethnicity, and marriage plans. Their analyses reveal that a 'cohabitation effect' exists only for women married prior to 1996, and that, until marriage plans are considered, there is no cohabitation effect among women married since 1996.<ref>{{cite web
|author1=Wendy D. Manning
|author2=Jessica A. Cohen
|url=http://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/112067
|publisher=[[Princeton University]]
|title=Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution: The Significance of Marriage Cohort
|access-date=22 November 2012
|archive-date=15 April 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415160801/https://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/112067
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

Recent research from 2011 by the [[Pew Research Center]] has found that the number of couples that cohabit before marriage has increased. 44% of adults (and more than half of 30- to 49-year-olds) say they have cohabited at some point. Nearly two-thirds of adults who ever cohabited (64%) say they thought about it as a step toward marriage. The report also notes a trend toward rising public acceptance of cohabiting couples over the years. Most Americans now say the rise in unmarried couples living together either makes no difference to society (46%) or is good for society (9%).<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1959/family-meals-cohabitation-divorce-new-findings-contradict-conventional-wisdom
 |title        = New Facts About Families – Recent Findings on Family Meals, Cohabitation and Divorce
 |author       = D'Vera Cohn
 |date         = 8 April 2011
 |work         = Pew Research Center Publications
 |publisher    = [[Pew Research Center]]
 |access-date  = 22 November 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121016222803/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1959/family-meals-cohabitation-divorce-new-findings-contradict-conventional-wisdom
 |archive-date = 16 October 2012
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

A 2012 study found that, among cohabiting individuals, those who were engaged prior to cohabitation or had "definite plans for marriage" were linked to lower risks of marital instability among women, but the relationship was not observed with men.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wendy Manning |author2=Jessica Cohen |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family| title=Premarital cohabitation and marital dissolution: An examination of recent marriages |pmc=3487709 |pmid=23129875 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00960.x |volume=74 |issue=2 |date=April 2012 |pages=377–387}}</ref>

One study on low to moderate income couples living with minor children found that respondents who became sexually involved within the first month of their relationship were correlated to lower scores of relationship quality among women.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Sassler S, Addo FR, Lichter OT |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family| title=The tempo of sexual activity and later relationship quality |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00996.x| volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=708–725 |year=2012}}</ref> Another study found respondents to a mail-in survey self-reported higher levels of commitment in the cohabiting group, as well as lower relationship satisfaction and more negative communication.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |journal=Journal of Family Psychology| title=The impact of the transition to cohabitation on relationship functioning: Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings |pmid=22545935 |pmc=5956859 |doi=10.1037/a0028316 |volume=26 |issue=3 |date=June 2012 |pages=348–358}}</ref>

A 2018 study found that cohabiting before marriage was linked to a lower risk of divorce during the first year of marriage, but a greater risk of divorce in the long run.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Michael J. Rosenfeld |author2=Katharina Roesler |title=Cohabitation Experience and Cohabitation's Association With Marital Dissolution |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |date=24 September 2018 |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=42–58 |s2cid=150211124 |doi=10.1111/jomf.12530|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, a report published by the Council on Contemporary Families that same year found that couples who cohabited before marriage were less likely to divorce than couples who did not.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fetters |first1=Ashley |title=So Is Living Together Before Marriage Linked to Divorce or What? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/10/premarital-cohabitation-divorce/573817/ |access-date=14 March 2021 |work=The Atlantic |date=24 October 2018}}</ref>