Study Shows More Couples Cohabiting Before Marriage

A study released through the Center for Disease Control recently shows a significant increase in the number of people who now live together before marriage compared to previous years.

The study, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, included 22,000 men and woman between the ages of 15 and 44. The results showed that by 2010 there had been a 41 percent increase from 1995 in the number of women who live with a partner before getting married.

The study also revealed that 1 in 5 women become pregnant during the first year of living together. However, not all premarital co-habitations lead to marriage. In fact, only 40 percent of those relationships in the study led to marriage within three years.

Another statistic that the study reflected was the number of co-habitations that led to marriage after a pregnancy. The study showed a significant drop from 1995 to 2010.

The results also reflect a difference depending on factors related to age, socio-economic, ethnic and education levels. What it does show, however, is that more and more children are no longer being raised in the home of their birth mother and father.

How do you think this change in lifestyle has impacted society today?