Divorce Rates Higher for Live-in Couples

MADISON, WI (EP) – Though living together in a “trial marriage” before officially tying the knot is widely believed to increase marital stability, recent studies show that Americans who live together before marriage separate and divorce much more frequently than traditional couples.

A study by two University of Wisconsin researchers found that within a decade of their wedding, 38 percent of those who had lived together had split up, significantly more than the 27 percent of those who got married before living together.

In analyzing data from a 1987-89 federal survey, researchers Larry Bumpass and James Sweet also found the number of people who live together before marriage continues to climb, particularly for the people who marry more than once.

Bumpass said the findings don’t say that people who have lived together before marriage have less happy marriages than traditional couples. He suggests, however, that “at the same level of unhappiness they’re more unwilling to accept divorce as a solution.”

Your comments are welcome

Use Textile help to style your comments

Suggested products

DVD

The Silent Scream

Ronald Reagan changed his view as a result of watching The Silent Scream – a movie he considered so powerful and convicting that he screened it at the White House.

Read more

DVD

Freedom

The Model of Christian Liberty. This DVD includes “Dawn’s Early Light: A Brief History of America’s Christian Foundations” and bonus features.

Read more