Cohabitation not equal to marriage Vanier study reports

Community Action, Oct 24, 2005

OTTAWA -- 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, York University professor Anne-Marie Ambert claims in her paper Cohabitation and Marriage: How Are They Related? Published by the Vanier Institute for the Family.

Ambert 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 and concludes that

* cohabitation benefits one partner over the other, most often men; who may view cohabiting as convenient access to their current sexual partner;

* marriage is a far more beneficial arrangement for children; and

* for older couples cohabitation benefits all parties.

"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.

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Proportion of couples which cohabit

                         % of all
Country           Year   couples

Sweden            2000   30.0%
Norway            2000   24.5
Finland           2000   18.5
Mexico            2000   18.7
New Zealand       2001   18.3
France            1999   17.5
Canada            2001   16.0
Quebec            2001   29.8
Other provinces   2001   11.7
United States     2000    8.2

Source: Statistics Canada 2002

Source of Table Cohabitation and
Marriage: How Are They Related?