Cohabitation: a trial period before marriage?Marriage can be a scary thing for anyone. The act of marriage can bring about fears such as commitment, as well as fears associated with living together and sharing everything. This, in turn, can cause one or both parties to feel vulnerable. A common approach to allaying these fears and vulnerabilities is cohabitation. For many, cohabitation can seem like a transitional period allowing couples to adjust to living together before marriage. In fact, cohabitation is becoming the norm in the United States. Huang, Smock, Manning, and Lynch (2011) assert that “evidently, cohabitation has become a customary part of the court process in the United States” and that it “has increased significantly in the United States in recent decades ". In this article, we'll explore the reasoning behind cohabitation and discuss the pros and cons. Why cohabitation? One of the most cited reasons is that “couples can be sure that they are compatible before marriage (Huang et al, 2011)”. Apparently, many couples who cohabit before marriage fear incompatibility with their current lover and/or future spouse. Using cohabitation as a “trial period” before marriage can eliminate the fear of living together for both partners. It can assure both parties that they are friendly in the living space, or affirm that they are not. Smock, Casper and Wyse (2008) also highlight several influences in favor of cohabitation: there are cultural and economic influences. Young people consider cohabitation as part of life. "Two-thirds of men and women aged 18 to 29 who have never been married or cohabited explicitly disagree with the statement that 'a young couple should not live together unless they...... middle of paper... ..couples have studied cohabitation before committing to it, they can learn what thoughts and actions to avoid in a damaged relationship.ReferencesBooth, A. and Johnson, D. (1988). Premarital cohabitation and marital success. Journal of Family Issues, 9(255), retrieved from http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/9/2/255 doi: 10.1177/019251388009002007 Evans, SG (2006). Effects of cohabitation duration on personal and relational well-being. Huang, PM, Smock, PJ, Manning, WD and Bergstrom-Lynch, CA (2011). , she says: gender and cohabitation, Journal of Family Issues, 32(876), retrieved from http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/32/7/876 doi:10.1177/0192513X10397601Smock, PJ, Casper, LM and Wyse. , J. (2008, July). Nonmarital cohabitation: Current knowledge and future research directions. (Report n°. 08‐648).