Essay Cohabitation, Marriage, and Divorce - 1239 Words

1.0 Introduction Cohabitation is and has been a norm in almost all societies in the world. It has been perceived as the stepping stone to marriage by the modern generation. In Whitman, (2003), cohabitation has grown so widely that there is one cohabiting couple out of 7 marriages in 2010 as compared to 1 out of 90 marriages in 1960. According to her, the attitude towards the whole of marriage institution has changed drastically over time. In the same article, currently in the US, of 3 single women, 1 chooses to live with their partners before marriage as compared to the 1950’s where only 1 out of 10 chooses so. Another statistics reveal that, the number of cohabitating partners have increased exponentially from 430,000 in 1960 to 5.4†¦show more content†¦Parties in support of cohabitation cling on strongly to their view that cohabitation is a good platform for testing out for marriage and training the couples to be better spouses. However, the opposition insists that cohabitation shou ld not be continued in this era because of the instability of the relationship and the outcomes of cohabitation are often undesirable. After much research and findings, the latter proved to be more correct. Cohabiting should not be encouraged simply because studies reveal that marriages that are preceded by cohabitation are more prone to divorce, are disadvantaged economically and produces negative outcomes in children in terms of emotional and cognitive development as well as in terms of education compared to children from normal families. This report covers the opposing views on whether should cohabitation continued to be practiced in the modern society. This research report is based on statistics provided by professionals from all over the world and assumes that the statistics provided are accurate and applicable to the situation. 2.0 Body of Report 2.1 Marriage preceded by cohabitation is subjected to higher chances of divorce. As said before, many couples take cohabitation as a stepping stone to marriage. This means cohabitation is becoming a transition state leading to marriage. According to Bramlett M.D. and Mosher W.D. (2002), there is a 58 percent probability that a 3-year cohabitationShow MoreRelatedExamine the Reasons for Changes in the Patterns of Marriage, Cohabitation and Divorce.2147 Words   |  9 Pagesfor changes in the patterns of marriage, divorce and cohabitation over the past 40 years.† The patterns of marriage, divorce and cohabitation over the past 40 years has varied considerably. In 1972, over 480,000 couples got married subsequently making this the highest amount of marriages within a year ever since the Second World War. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this was down to the baby boom generation of the 1950’s reaching the age of marriage. However, after this period,Read MoreThe Reasons for Changes in the Patterns of Marriage, Cohabitation and Divorce in the last 30 Years845 Words   |  4 PagesReasons for Changes in the Patterns of Marriage, Cohabitation and Divorce in the last 30 Years Over the last 30 years there has been a significant change in the pattern for marriage, co-habitation and divorce. There are many reasons for these changes that have taken place. For example, since 1971, when a divorce act was introduced, divorce has been more acceptable in todays society. This has slowly increased the figures of divorce at a steady rate. 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