ainst marriage, the breaking up process will be simpler without legal and religious hassles. However, David Popenoe, professor of sociology, who works closely with Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, co. director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, explain that research specifically indicates that "Living together before marriage increases the risk of divorce. One study found an increased risk of forty-six percent."(Popenoe "Cohabitation") Divorce rates have climbed substantially; between 1970 and 1978 there was a 91 percent increase in the divorce rates and from 1960 to 1980, the rate has climbed to 157 percent.(Mitchelson 16) Research of cohabitation has strongly displayed that the risk of divorce after marriage is substantially raised if the couple lives together prior to their union.Many reasons for divorce among cohabitation exist. David Popenoe suggests that the most obvious explanation for the high divorce rate is that cohabiting relationships undercut the strong ethic by which marriages are held together. He explains thatThose people willing to cohabit are more unconventional than others and less committed to the institution of marriage. These are the same people then, who more easily will leave a marriage if it becomes troublesome. According to recent studies cohabitants tend not to be as committed as married couples in their dedication to the continuation of the relationship and reluctance to terminate it, and they are more oriented toward their own personal autonomy.("Should"Cohabitation becomes damaging even to the possibility of marriage. The demographers at Pennsylvania State conducted a study in 1997 which insisted that cohabitants are not only more accepting of divorce, but become less enthusiastic about marriage and childbearing.(Popenoe "Should") Divorce has become contagious, and with the rise in acceptance in premarital cohabitation, society can predict that the institution of marriage will weake...
