Long Term Relationships

When people think of long-term relationships, they tend to think of the traditional marriage. They picture a man and a woman who are married and eventually start a family. While the traditional marriage is still an important long-term relationship, they are other types of relationships that have their own unique benefits. In today’s society there is the tradition marriage, same-sex marriage, polygamous couples, and cohabiting couples. Each type of relationship has benefits for the couple such as married couples earning more money, polygamous couples have a higher level of freedom, or cohabiting couples avoiding the stress and pressure of marriage and commitment. Aside from the benefits to the couple, long-term relationships also play an important …show more content…
Being a less formal union, the couples are able to focus more on themselves and their relationship instead of on formal institutions. There is also less pressure to get married and start a family when a couple chooses to cohabit. For co residential couples, it gives the benefit of practical living arrangements. The couple is able to split the cost of living and enjoys the benefit of more money available for them to spend. They also have someone to go to for support, as well as very little pressure to move the relationship forwards. When cohabiting is done as a precursor to marriage, the couple is able to demonstrate their commitment to their partner. They both leave their separate living arrangements and move in together to show that they believe the relationship will work and that they are heavily invested in the relationship. This is also taking a step forward in their relationship and brings the couple closer to their goal of marriage. Perhaps the group that benefits the most from cohabiting is couples that fall into the category of the trial marriage. Cohabiting allows them to see if they really are compatible with their partner. They see their partner more often and they see how they really are. For example, couples get to find out if their partner is messy or has any strange habits that they dislike. This type of relationship …show more content…
Someone in a long-term relationship tends to be more responsible because they know their actions affect themselves and their partner. As a result of this, people in long-term relationships are less likely to commit crime. The reduction is even higher for married couples. Society experiences fewer instances of disobedience and crime from married couples and those in long-term relationships than they do from single people. These relationships also have a positive effect on the economy. As previously mentioned, couples in long-term relationships tend to earn more money and as a result, they spend more money as well. “Married Americans report a daily spending average of $102, followed by $98 among those who are living in domestic partnerships, $74 by divorced Americans, $67 by those who are single” (Newport and Wilke). Cohabiting couples and married couples both spend about $100 dollars a day, which is much more than single people who only spend $67. This increase in spending is very beneficial to the economy and has a positive affect on society. Perhaps the greatest benefit of long-term relationships, particularly marriage, is the effect on children. Children who come from a family with married parents have the best chance of success. If these long-term relationships end, the children suffer. Children of divorce are more likely to experience depression and drug abuse. It hinders their