Cohabitation

Cohabitation, where two individuals in a relationship, are living in the same household without being legally married, is a type of union that is becoming more and more popular. The rates of cohabitation have been increasing significantly over the recent decades and have developed from being a deviant behaviour to a widely accepted union (Bumpass and Lu, 2000). The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether or not cohabitation creates an instable environment for the existing children involved. The objective is to determine if cohabitation is a suitable union for children to be in, and whether marriage is more appropriate. The main areas of focus are child development and their behaviour in social experiences as well as the family’s financial situation.

Cohabitation is known to be a union that is short-term, where approximately half of the relationships last a year or less, one-sixth seem to withstand about three years, and roughly one-tenth last five years or more (Bumpass and Lu, 2000). Approximately one-third of children born into a cohabiting relationship will experience their parent’s dissolution before they reach the age of eighteen (Seltzer, 2000), and this can cause a negative effect on the children.

One of the main issues involving cohabitation with children is that there tends to be apparent shifts in the family structure causing a loss in resources. With this financial strain, as well as the adjustment to new lifestyles, it creates conflict between the family members (Seltzer, 2000). Typically when a mother enters and exits a cohabiting relationship, she becomes financially unstable and this has an effect on her children. In severe cases, the children may not be receiving the proper nutrition or healthcare. Kelly and Wildsmith (2004) determined from certain studies that children living in cohabiting families are more likely to experience poorer outcomes than children living in two-parent or even single-parent families. Even though it may seem that children living with two parents would have the necessities a child needs, it is normal for cohabiting partners to distribute less of their earnings than a spouse normally would (Seltzer, 2000). Strain in the relationship can be a result when a partner does not equally contribute their earnings and this reflects on the children.

According to the National Survey of Family Growth in 1995, the rise of entering and exiting transitions in cohabitation increases the likelihood of family instability by almost 30% for Caucasians and over 100% for African American individuals (Kelly & Wildsmith, 2000). Many people who are entering a cohabiting relationship are not financially stable because they may not have a proper job or in some situations, the person has recently gone through a divorce. As previously mentioned, children in cohabiting unions normally do not receive equal support that children obtain when their parents are married. When an individual is in a cohabiting union, their partner’s financial contribution tends to have a reduction of 29% in comparison to a couple who are legally married (Manning & Lichter, 1996). When both parents are not contributing equally, the children must reap the benefits that can cause a decrease in their social behaviour as well as a drop in their academics.

However, children being raised in cohabiting families have a better economic experience than children who are living in a single-parent household. Whereas children living in married couple families do not experience as much economic stress in comparison to children living in common-law (Manning & Lamb, 2003). It is different in every type of family, where in certain aspects; the child may have negative experiences, while others may have positive ones. It depends on the household they reside in and how the parents involved treat the children.

Cohabitation is often regarded as a less committed relationship, and even though it is similar in many ways to a marriage, there are significant differences. Common-law unions are not as stable as marital unions in regards to financial resources, familial support and the quality of the relationship (Osborne, Manning, & Smock, 2007). Due to the instability that cohabitation entails,