Cohabitation Effects

From the Washington Post:

It has been long understood that marriage provided more emotional health benefits than cohabiting or dating. But that’s showing signs of shifting.

Young people are choosing to live with their significant others before, or instead of, getting hitched. For “emerging adults,” or those in their 20s, cohabitation may offer the same emotional health benefits as marriage, according to a recent study published by the Journal of Family Psychology.

Using data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Sara E. Mernitz and Claire Kamp Dush from Ohio State University looked at what happens when young people cohabitate, transition into marriage or progress from a first to second cohabitation — and how men and women experience these changes differently.

Read more here.

Hat Tip: Naomi Cahn