Cohabitation

Cohabitation

Introduction

Cohabitation before marriage is a characteristic of modern society, at least for the Western countries. Parents have little or no influence over the children to give them approval for cohabitation. Therefore, children do not have to reckon with the strict criteria of social approval and it is easy to have the material conditions for living together. As a result, it seems that there is no conclusive objection to living with your beloved. The problem is that such rare co-existence can be defined as "premarital". Couples choose to have a period of cohabitation before marriage, which is an imitation of a marriage in a figurative way, without the solemnity and finality of the marriage of choice that generates a lot of confusion.

Discussion

It is clear that living together before marriage is inherently temporary and dependent on secondary factors, compared with the needs of the present family life. From a purely human point of view, we are talking about living together, probably associated with mutual convenience and satisfaction, than the obligation to be faithful, and the desire to accept and recognize each other (Horn, 1998). If the reason for living together is a true commitment to love, then it is unclear why it should not be sealed with marriage. There is also a more obvious consequence of cohabitation. Children born from extramarital cohabitation have no guarantee to grow into a real family, regardless of compliance with laws protecting the rights of children (Parker, 2008). The law can guarantee the financial support of biological parents, and to some extent, stimulate moral support, but it cannot create love, which children need.

Consequences of Cohabitation

One of the consequences of cohabitation is the high rate of divorce. Couples that live together before marriage are more likely to end up in divorce than those who start a life together after marriage (Santorum, 2003). In addition, those who live in cohabiting and later get married have lower satisfaction with their marriage than people who get married first. Other perspectives of cohabitation are that some couples living together without a clear goal of creating a family in the future can build a real family, if they have a positive experience of cohabitation (Crittenden, 1998). The right way of cohabitation is to discuss the mutual obligations and expectations with the partner before starting to live together. This must be done well because cohabitation by itself makes such negotiations.

Reasons for Cohabitation

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