COHABITATION

I. Definition:
Cohabitation is an arrangement where two people who are not married live together in an
intimate relationship.
II. Reasons
The reason people choose cohabitation rather than married because they think that marriage is an
outdated idea. People in new generation now like to live in freedom. People think married is
restricted individual to live in freedom and also limiting them to express themselves. Therefore
they choose to cohabitation rather than marry because cohabitation is more flexible than
married. 
In addition, some of the people have financial problem and not decide to marry, so they choose
to cohabitation. Marriages need to spend a lot of money due to the wedding. Some of the people
cannot support the financial, and at the end they decide to cohabitation.
Many couples also move in together in an effort to spend more time together. Cohabiting affords
the couple the convenience of more time to weave their routines and interests and assess the
relationship.
** not ready to commit to a marriage yet: One reason for this increased interest in
cohabitation over marriage may not be the fear of the union itself, so much as a concern for the
possibility of its collapse. people who opt for cohabitation over marriage tend to cite the fear of
divorce as the central reason not to get married.
** more sexually satisfying than dating, requires less sexual faithfulness than marriage, allows
us to be more independent than marriage.
**possible to share living expenses: When they have already established that they care for one
another and want to see where the relationship is going, they see moving in together as a way to
save on rent, food, and other living expenses.
** to make sure we are compatible before marriage, reduce dirvoce
Theo tiến sĩ Huỳnh Văn Sơn, trưởng khoa tâm lý Đại học sư phạm TPHCM cho rằng: “Một
trong những nguyên nhân dẫn đến giới trẻ sống trước hôn nhân là các bạn sống quá tự do, sống
xa nhà, thiếu thốn tình cảm, sống buông thả”.
Do ảnh hưởng của tư tưởng phương tây
** According to PhD.Huỳnh Văn Sơn : “One of the main reasons for cohabitation of young
people in Vietnam is that they live away from their home in a free and irresponsible way; lack
of affection from their family”. Besides, they are affected by western culture

III. The facts

They certainly don’t go much for cohabiting in Italy or indeed the USA among young adults.
Cohabitation is pretty much the same
everywhere else. Marriage is not so
common in Sweden generally among young people.
People cohabiting in the UK, 1996 to 2012
In 2012, there were 5.9 million people cohabiting in the UK, double the 1996 figure. Over the
same period, the percentage of people aged 16 or over who were cohabiting steadily increased,
from 6.5 per cent in 1996 to 11.7 per cent in 2012. This makes cohabitation the fastest growing
family type in the UK.
***Việt Nam
According to a research among 691 students conducted by Thai Nguyen University of Medicine
and Pharmacy
- 45 students said that they have cohabited before (~ 6.5%).
- Most students who have cohabited are the ones living in the inn and have little contact with
other people
47.1% said that their parents knew and allowed them to cohabit
And 45.1% have lived together for more than 1 year
An online poll conducted by VnExpress in 2005, when asking "Should we cohabit before
marriage?"
100% confirmed that they had have sex
But only 48% of them used safety measures to prevent diseases or pregnancy
And if they got pregnant...
43% said that they will have an abortion
While only 36% said that they will think of a marriage
The rate of abortion in Vietnam is 300, 000 cases/year
Of which, 20% are at adolescent age
Vietnam ranked 5th in the world and is the leader in South East Asia at abortion rate.
In other survey:
A survey on cohabitation revealed 61.1% women support cohabitation, while
70.2% men support this view.