Not surprisingly, young adults strongly favor cohabitation. But a careful review of the available social science evidence suggests that living together is not a good way to prepare for marriage or to avoid divorce. What's more, it shows that the rise in cohabitation is not a positive family trend. Cohabiting unions tend to weaken the institution of marriage and pose clear dangers for women and children. Living together outside marriage increases the risk of domestic violence for women and the risk of physical and sexual abuse for children.
Unmarried couples have lower levels of happiness and well-being than married couples.
We recognize the larger social and cultural trends that make cohabiting relationships attractive to many young adults today. Unmarried cohabitation is not likely to go away. There is no evidence that if you decide to cohabit before marriage you will have a stronger marriage than those who don't live together, and there is some evidence to suggest that if you live together before marriage, you are more likely to divorce. Multiple cohabiting is a strong predictor of the failure of future relationships. The longer you live together with a partner, the more likely it is that the low-commitment ethic of cohabitation will take hold, the opposite of what is required for a successful marriage.