Married parents more likely to stay together

The study also found that cohabiting has become a less stable form of relationship in UK compared with 18-years-ago, with couples more likely to separate.
Figures show that in 1992, 70 per cent of couples who had children after they were married stayed together until their child’s 16th birthday. This rose to 75 per cent in 2006.
However, the study found that while in 1992, 36 per cent of cohabiting parents stayed together until their child reached 16, the number reduced to just 7 per cent in 2006.
The figure excludes those couples who were just living together when their child was born and later got married.

The researchers also found that three of the five couples who stop cohabiting get married but only 17 per cent of these stay together by the time their child is 16.
The study, Cohabitation in the 21st Century, from Christian thinktank the ‘Jubilee Centre’ also shows that less than one in 19 (5.3 per cent) of all couples who live together have been together for ten years or more, the Daily Mail reported.
The study also suggests cohabitation does not serve as a trial marriage or reduce the odds of divorce. Never-married couples who live together before tying the knot are 60 per cent more likely to divorce than those who do not.
PTI