sexual relationships as permanently exclusive they are less
faithful to their partners than spouses are. Even when they are
faithful, they are less committed to sexual fidelity, which creates
more insecurity. Second, cohabitation also affects the cohabitors'
children. In general, children's emotional development is poorer
if a parent is cohabiting than if a parent is married. This poor
development is partly due to the high risk that the couple will
break up. If the couple does separate, the children pay an
economic price, since they have no right to child support from a
partner who is not their biological parent. They also pay an
emotional price when they lose a caring adult who may have
taken a parental role but will do so no longer.
Third, living without both parents also increases the chance that
a child will be abused. Boyfriends are disproportionately likely
to sexually or physically abuse their girlfriend's children. 18 In
fact, the most unsafe family environment for children is that in
which the mother is living with someone other than the child's
biological father. 19 These children may also have more
behavioral problems and lower academic performance than
children in married families.
Similarly, cohabiting women are more likely than married
women to suffer physical and sexual abuse. Some estimate that
aggression is at least twice as
common among cohabitors as it
is among marrieds.
Fourth, although cohabitors try
JOY FEELINGS