How Cohabitation and Marriage Effects Childhood Well Being

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How Cohabitation and Marriage Effects Childhood Well Being Abstract In the article, the author David Popenoe analyzes how non-marital cohabitation has become a common choice among Western nation families. Popenoe specifically studies how non –marital cohabitation has negatively affected the relationship of those involved and the children being raised in this lifestyle. Counties involved in analysis are Western Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, and Australia. Among other countries, they are used to help understand the cohabitation choices that USA citizens are partaking in. When Popenoe analyzes Cohabitation and the USA, he explains how today’s younger generation has a different outlook on non-marital cohabitation. In the past 25 years the percentage of high school seniors who “agreed” or “mostly agreed” with the statement “It is usually a good idea for a couple to live together before getting married” has climbed from 45% to 64% (Popenoe, 429). This is not only what young American believe, countries like Sweden are also parallel with America’s beliefs of non-marital cohabitation. 30% of the Swedish population lives together before marriage (Popenoe, 430). Northern and Central Europe have an even higher rate of this trend with 90% of Sweden and Denmark living together before becoming married. These statistics correlate with the author’s point that more and more couples believe that the choice to get to know your spouse before marriage seems to be what’s best. With the rate of non-marital cohabitation increasing, the amounts of unwed births are thus increasing as well. The conclusions made based on the scientific research in this article, are the effects of non-marital cohabitation. These effects are mainly negative effects for the couple and any children in the living environment. Couples that live together but are not married have a

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