1. In our society, cohabitation creates several problems involving relationships, children, and health.

2. Cohabitation destroys relationships. Counter Claim: 70% of those who live together for at least 5 years do marry. In times of stress and conflict, couples who cohabit are more likely to handle their conflicts with heated arguing, hitting, and throwing. Barely 10% of cohabiting couples are able to move on to build a strong, happy marriage that lasts a lifetime.

3. Children of cohabiting couples suffer several consequences. Children of cohabiting parents are 3 times as likely to be expelled from school or to get pregnant as teenagers than children from an intact home with married parents. Compared to children living with married biological parents, those whose single parent have a live-in partner have over 10 times the rate of abuse. Children living in a cohabiting stepfamily are more than twice as likely to use drugs.

4. Cohabiting couples experience more health problems than married ones. Cohabiting women have rates of depression 3 times higher than married women. A survey of 14,000 adults over a 10 year period found that less than 25% of those cohabiting said they were very happy with their life in general compared to 40% who were married. The rate of STDs for cohabiting women is six times higher than for married women.