This is a more attractive proposition if one's intended has a decent income and few debts. LingXin Hao, writing in Social Forces, shows that among all families with children, cohabiting couples have the lowest average level of wealth, comparable to families headed by a single mother. Intact two-parent families and stepfamilies have the highest level of wealth, followed at a distance by families headed by a single father. Unlike single-parent families, cohabiting couples have two potential earners, so their very low levels of wealth are less expected. But expected or not, they are a cause for concern, especially for the children living in these families.
Marriage is, by design and agreement, for the long run.
Married people, thus, see their relationship as much more stable than cohabiting couples do. And for any couple, thinking that the relationship is likely to break up has a dampening effect on the spirits. Specifically, cohabitors report being more depressed and less satisfied with life than do married people. And according to sociologist Susan Brown, worrying that one's relationship will break up is especially distressing for cohabiting women with children, who show quite high levels of depression as a result. Perhaps, however, cohabiting people are more depressed because depressed and dissatisfied people have trouble getting married.