It seems the old saying has some truth to it: people who are getting the milk for free aren't in any hurry to buy the cow. A Penn State study found that those who cohabit for several years with a girlfriend or boyfriend become less enthusiastic about marriage than those who live with their parents. They also want fewer children, and are more tolerant of divorce.
Previous research has shown that people who already hold a dim view of marriage are more likely to cohabit. But this study suggests that influence also travels in the other direction: living together causes a change in attitude. Authors William Axinn, Ph.D., and Jennifer Barber, Ph.D., propose several theories that might account for this phenomenon: We tend to adopt the values and beliefs of the people around us, so two anti-marriage cohabiters may confirm each other's views. People also tend to have favorable feelings about experiences they have had, so they may come to feel positively about living together and negatively about marriage. Finally, people have a need to make their feelings and behavior consistent, so if they're living together they may be moved to celebrate cohabitation and denigrate marriage.
