The Cohabitation Epidemic By Neil Clark Warren

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In this paper, I will argue that in “The Cohabitation Epidemic” Neil Clark Warren does not successfully support his conclusion stating that people should be alarmed by the current situations of cohabitation epidemic between couples (Vaughn 482). The author spent a myriad of time discrediting cohabitation between couples as not the right form of trial marriage, which to me is lost in the mix. The author begins his story by explaining the social changes that have taken place during the previous decades, indicating the adverse rise of “cohabitation partner couples/ households (Vaughn 481).” Therefore, all the psychologists who possess knowledge of working with both the married and single couples must get alarmed when such cohabitation cases are …show more content…
Therefore, I think the argument presented by the author is unsuccessful and has really drawn the readers into false dilemmas, i.e. consider the author's assertion that, "…that there are merely two alternatives to consider when there are essentially more than two"2, in this case, several other reasons (Esteve, Albert & Ron 280). Several couples are having similar sex relationships and are not permitted to get married in most states in the United States of America3. Consequently, some partners cannot afford the financial obligations that come with marriage while others have personal reasons concerning having been opted just to remain cohabiting and not getting married (Vaughn 484). However, the authors state merely three reasons why couples choose to engage in trial marriage through cohabitation thus opting to delay in getting married, i.e., due to abundant lust in the society, observing several marriages getting broken make it seem precarious to some people and finally, due to lost confidence in precisely judging durable marriages. Notably, I consider that the author has left out several reasons or possibilities that usually make couples to cohabitate without getting …show more content…
The truth is that the rates at which people divorce has declined tremendously for the last two decades. However, the contentious nature of how the media have portrayed marriage is what worries young adults today keeping them away from getting married. The ways through the media have been depicting marriage indeed affect the perception of several young adults concerning marriage, for example, when the media are displaying unhappy images regarding domestic violence (Esteve, Albert & Ron 260). That images bring to the attention of several young adults shifting their beliefs and perceptions about marriage. Another reason for cohabitation preference to marriage is due to the changing roles of men in their places of work. For example, men have changed to become the primary provider over the last four decades worldwide. However, due to the fallen in wages, men have been less likely to get a college degree as compared to women, thus making them explore various marriage alternatives which cohabitation is one of

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