Poll Shows Distorted View of Cohabitation

CitizenLink 7/29

Poll Shows Distorted View of Cohabitation

by Devon Williams, associate editor

'One of the best ways to sandbag a marriage before it starts is to live together before marriage.'


Nearly half of American adults believe that cohabitation can be good for marriage, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll. Similarly, almost half believe living together before marriage has no effect on children.

The survey of 1,007 adults found that 49 percent believe cohabitation makes divorce less likely. Brad Wilcox, associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, said there is a growing body of evidence that suggests otherwise.

"People think that cohabitation is a great way to practice or test a relationship," he said. "In reality, we know that cohabitation tends to set people up for marital failure – both in terms of high rates of divorce, but also in terms of more conflict in their marriage and less happiness."

In addition, 47 percent of respondents said living together doesn't negatively affect their children. Wilcox called this is a tragedy for our nation's youth.

"Kids who are exposed to cohabitation are more likely to be physically abused, to be sexually abused, to have trouble with depression and delinquency and a number of other negative social outcomes," he said. "One of (marriage's) primary purposes is to secure an ideal environment for the rearing of children. We need to make sure that we are having and rearing our kids in the context of a marital union where there's that commitment and that trust that is going to generate good things for our children."

In a related poll released Monday by the Census Bureau, there are currently 6.4 million cohabiting couples in the U.S. That's up 1.4 million from 2006.

Glenn Stanton, director of family formation studies for Focus on the Family, said the numbers indicate pro-family organizations and scholars haven't done a good job of educating Americans about the harmful effects of cohabitation on marriage.

"The American people are largely clueless on the measurable benefits of marriage and the negative impact of cohabitation," he said. "In fact, one of the best ways to sandbag a marriage before it starts is to live together before marriage.

"We need to do a better job of helping people understand that marital status and lack of marital status really has a negative impact in the lives of people."