Although research suggests that cohabiting prior to marriage does not result in a reduced risk of divorce or an improved chance of marital quality, prior research has indicated that this has been a prevalent view, particularly among emerging adults. Using an online survey, the authors sought to determine whether or not this view was still prevalent and how that might impact decisions about romantic relationships. Final sample included 139 adults with ages ranging from 19 to 64 years and a mean of 30.7 years. The relationship between cohabitation beliefs and several variables were examined using independent-samples t tests and chi-squares (with Yates correction). Results indicated that younger participants were more likely to endorse the belief that cohabitation prevents divorce and cohabitation was a good trial run for marriage while older adults were less likely to endorse these beliefs. These findings have implications for couples therapists and family educators in that they suggest that younger adults, in particular, may be making relationship decisions, such as whether or not to cohabit, based on beliefs unsupported by the literature.

中文翻译：

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关于婚前同居的信念：个人是否相信同居有助于证明离婚的婚姻？

尽管研究表明婚前同居不会降低离婚风险或提高婚姻质量的机会，但先前的研究表明，这是一种普遍观点，尤其是在新兴成年人中。通过在线调查，作者试图确定这种观点是否仍然盛行，以及这可能如何影响有关恋爱关系的决定。最终样本包括 139 名年龄在 19 至 64 岁之间，平均年龄为 30.7 岁的成年人。使用独立样本 t 检验和卡方（使用 Yates 校正）检查同居信念和几个变量之间的关系。结果表明，年轻的参与者更有可能认可同居可以防止离婚的信念，而同居是婚姻的一个很好的试运行，而老年人则不太可能认可这些信念。这些发现对夫妻治疗师和家庭教育者具有重要意义，因为他们表明，尤其是年轻人，可能会根据没有文献支持的信念做出关系决定，例如是否同居。