Posted on 07/14/2009 3:10:48 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Couples who shack up before tying the knot are more likely to get divorced than their counterparts who don't move in together until marriage, a new study suggests.
Upwards of 70 percent of U.S. couples are cohabiting these days before marrying, the researchers estimate. The study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, indicates that such move-ins might not be wise.
And it's not because you start to get on one another's nerves. Rather, the researchers figure the shared abode could lead to marriage for all the wrong reasons.
"We think that some couples who move in together without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they are already cohabiting," said lead researcher Galena Rhoades of the University of Denver.
Couples might also be nudged into nuptials because of a joint lease or shared ownership of Fido - along with other practicalities.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Looks like God got it right.
Living together after marriage isn’t always all that great either.
I cohabitated for about two years before we got married. Didn’t seem to do any harm to us. Our 20th anniversary is in a few months.
The statistics on this have been out for some time. Even when the marriages don’t work, I’ve read that the marriages are less happy. And it’s not good news because living together is now so common place, nary an eye blinks these days.
LOL.
Sometimes a bank robber gets away, too.
I’ve recently passed 30 years, myself. Cohab thinned the herd and prevented some (but not all) serious mistakes, in my opinion. As they say, your mileage may vary.
It probably depends on the couple. My wife and I just had our 11th anniversary on the 11th. We cohabitated before marriage, but we knew on our second date we would get married. Literally we were talking about kids, religion, finances, etc... on the second date. We clicked and I don’t know of any of our friends that have a stronger marriage than us.
We were also older when we met. I was 26 and she was 24. I had spent 4.5 years in the Army and she had just graduated from college.
If cohabitation includes spending a week or two in the same dwelling together prior to marriage, then I plead guilty.
OK, here’s my take. Moving in together means you are probably already doing naughty things with each other. This means the woman is probably taking birth control pills. Her sense of smell is screwed up and so after marriage, when they are trying to get preggers, the dislike intensifies even more.
parsy, who read that thing about birth control pills messing up the mate selection process.
Guests on The Maury Show don’t even do that much...
One woman was there for 12 different DNZ tests trying to find the daddy of her now 5 y/o kid...and I haven’t watched it in over 4 years.
As far as I know, she is still searching!!!
I call b.s. on your “theory”. My husband and I lived together for several months before we decided to get married. I was on the pill.
We’ve been happily married for 36 years now and have two great kids. I think your theory is ridiculous.
Don’t pigeonhole people.
If cohabitating spoils marriage, then don’t marry. Divorce is about 60% certain these days.
No really. I read it on the internet.
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are involved in immune response and other functions, and the best mates are those that have different MHC smells than you. The new study reveals, however, that when women are on the pill they prefer guys with matching MHC odors.
MHC genes churn out substances that tell the body whether a cell is a native or an invader. When individuals with different MHC genes mate, their offspring’s immune systems can recognize a broader range of foreign cells, making them more fit.
Past studies have suggested couples with dissimilar MHC genes are more satisfied and more likely to be faithful to a mate. And the opposite is also true with matchng-MHC couples showing less satisfaction and more wandering eyes.
“Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems,” said lead researcher Stewart Craig Roberts, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Newcastle in England, “but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odor perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.”
parsy, who is scared of women
“parsy, who is scared of women”
LOL, boo!
I don’t know about the science behind your point and I have seen some bad situations when people lived together before marriage but I’ve also seen some good situations. In my personal and anecdotal experience, I would say it’s about 50-50.
I am parsy's overworked adrenaline glands. "I get cancer, I kill parsy"
My wife and I moved in together two weeks after we met and that was 20 years ago.
You’re probably right. I am in process of learning to love my guitar.
parsy, who has been hit in the head with a cast iron skillet one too many times.
This is a classic example of correlation versus causation. Most likely, those couples who didn't live together prior to marriage are more likely to be affiliated with religious groups that frown upon divorce. The cohabitation isn't the issue, the underlying cultural ethos are.
I'd be interested to see this cross-tabbed against various religious groups to see if this statistic holds true for conservative evangelicals, atheists, Muslims, etc.
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