Cause and effect paper on premarital cohabitation

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Cause and effect paper on premarital cohabitation.
Based on figures obtained from the United States Census, close to 50 percent of all marriages in the U.S. result in a divorce (Gauthier 1). Accordingly, with such a high figure of the divorce rates, it is understandable why many individuals have a lot of concern and skepticism about getting married. For this reason, some couples prefer entering into what some might term as a ‘trial marriage’ before engaging in the real commitment. In the modern 21st century, cohabitation is gradually becoming a normal scene in the courtship process, a ‘smooth’ transition from the dating phase to the marriage phase. Based on conventional logic, one might be lead to think that couples that cohabit before marriage have a lower probability of divorcing because they are much more prepared that the individuals who did not cohabit before marriage. Nonetheless, nothing can be further from the truth; research reveals that couples that engage in premarital cohabitation have higher rates of divorce, lack of commitment and much less money (Steffen Reinhold 719-733). Why might this be?
With regards to the higher rate of divorce among couples that engaged in premarital cohabitation, the cause of this might be attributed from the fact that couples who participate in premarital cohabitation might be less committed. Consequently, even before the marriage, partners in such arrangements might have cheated on their partners. On the other hand, research also points out that women that are in a premarital cohabitation arrangement have a higher chance of being abused than women who are not in such a settlement (CDC 6).

Lastly, although most couples say that they cohabit together to save on finances, it has been proven that couples that cohabit accumulate much less wealth in comparison to married couples. It has been shown that married men earn up to 40 percent more as compared to cohabiting or single men (Gauthier 1).
In a nutshell, although premarital cohabitation has both merits and demerits, it would be safe to say that the faults far outweigh the benefits because couples that engage in premarital cohabitation have higher rates of divorce, lack of commitment and much less money.

Work Cited.
CDC, “First Premarital Cohabitation In The United States: 2006–2010 National Survey Of Family Growth”. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Gauthier, Jason. “Census Records – History – U.S. Census Bureau”. Census.gov. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Steffen Reinhold, “Reassessing The Link Between Premarital Cohabitation And Marital Instability.” Demography 47.3 (2010): 719-733. Web.