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Printed from The Vanier Institute of the Family's website at www.vifamily.ca. © 2007.
September 17, 2005 Cohabitation vs. Marriage: Pros and Cons Ottawa—It comes as no surprise that many couples choose to live together rather than marry, at least for a period of time. What may surprise you is that for some couples, especially older ones, this benefits all parties. For others, cohabitation benefits one partner over the other, most often men, who may view cohabiting as convenient access to their current sexual partner. Overall, marriage is a far more beneficial arrangement for children. These are just a few of the findings of Anne-Marie Ambert's new paper, Cohabitation and Marriage: How Are They Related?, released today by the Vanier Institute of the Family as part of its ongoing Contemporary Family Trends series. Ambert has synthesized the findings of hundreds of research papers that examined the social, emotional and financial effects of cohabitation and marriage on men, women, children and society. "While more research is needed to confirm some of the implications and conclusions of Ambert's paper, it raises some troubling topics which we, as a society, would be well-advised to consider," says Robert Glossop, Executive Director of Programs and Research at the Vanier Institute. In particular, he adds, Ambert found that cohabitation and marriage are not equivalent unless accompanied by equivalent levels of commitment, fidelity and stability, all of which are far more often lacking in cohabiting relationships. Cohabitation and Marriage: How Are They Related? is the fourteenth of the Institute's Contemporary Family Trends papers written by leading Canadian experts in the field of family studies. This series, including Ambert's new paper, can be found at www.vifamily.ca/library/cft/cft.html. For hard copies, contact the Institute at 613-228-8500. To read or download the entire paper, please select [HTML] or [PDF] format. -30- Dr. Robert Glossop
Executive Director of Programs and Research, VIF 613-228-8500 ext. 214 bglossop@vifamily.ca www.vifamily.ca Mr. Alan Mirabelli
Executive Director of Administration and Communication / Information, VIF 613-228-8500 ext. 212 amirabelli@vifamily.ca www.vifamily.ca
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