Study: The Pre-Engagement Cohabitation Effect: A
Replication and Extension of Previous Findings
Couples Cohabiting Before
Engagement and Marriage Demonstrate Lower Marital Satisfaction and
Greater Potential for Divorce
More
than 70 percent of couples now live together before they marry. In
this study, married couples were questioned regarding their marital
satisfaction. Couples who cohabited before engagement demonstrated
significantly lower quality marriages and greater likelihood of
divorce than those who cohabited only after engagement or marriage.
Deciding to marry only after having lived together is a risk factor
for having more problems in marriage (“the cohabitation effect”).
The results of this study are in line with previous research on the
deleterious effects of cohabitation before having made a public
commitment to marry..1
1The
Pre-Engagement Cohabitation Effect: A Replication and Extension of
Previous Findings, Journal of Family Psychology 2009, Vol. 23, No.
107-111.
