By 1996, that percentage rose to 9.4. From 1960 to 1990, the number of children living with a divorced parent increased 352 percent. From 1970 to 1996, the percentage of the population over 18 years of age that were cohabiting rose over 400 percent. From 1970 to 1996, the number of all people over 18 years of age who had never married increased from 16 percent to 23 percent. 5 Marriage and Sexuality Research shows that sexuality functions best when it is exercised within the confines of marriage.
Married people have lower rates of alcoholism, suicide and mental health problems than unmarried.
Linda J. Waite reports that, on average, married men and women, even if they are unhealthy, live significantly longer than healthy, unmarried men and women. 14 Marriage and Children Children who are born to and live with their married parents do markedly better in every measure of well-being than children who do not. Children living with both parents are significantly more likely to do better in every measure of educational success than those with only one parent. 16 Children living with both biological parents, when compared to children who do not, are roughly 30 percent less likely to have health problems and are much less likely to be treated for emotional and behavioral problems. 17 Marriage vs Cohabiting Cohabitants have less healthy relationships than married couples, and when they do marry, their marriages are at a much greater risk of dissolution than those who do not cohabit.