Couples who live together before marriage are more likely to get divorced than others who start living together after marriage. So says a new study published in the journal Live Science.
Relationship dynamics
The study surveyed more than 1,000 married and married men and women aged 18-34 who have been married for less than 10 years. The survey survey included questions that reflected attitudes, sacrifices, negative communication, and sexual satisfaction. Among other things, respondents were also asked if they had ever seriously discussed the idea of divorce. About 40% of the respondents said they did not live together before marriage, 43% of them lived together before the engagement, and about 16% started living together after the engagement.
Couples who lived together before marriage reported significantly less relationship satisfaction and frequent thoughts of divorce than others. For example, 19% of those who lived together before their engagement ever seriously considered breaking up, compared with 12% of couples who started living together before marriage and 10% who lived together after marriage. “This is in line with our theory that people who live together before marriage often enter into one just because they have lived together for a long time and is mainly expected of them. Their motivation is not love and striving for a common future,”says the author of the study.
Why live together
On the other hand, people will find many reasons to live together. Another study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Family Issues, examined the reasons why people want to live together. More than 60% of respondents cited more time they could spend together as the first reason. Financial gain came in second, with 19% of them becoming important, and 14% said living together before marriage was the best way to test a relationship.
