THE DANGERS OF LIVE-IN ARRANGEMENTS

A Thesis Paper Presented to the Faculty of

The Department of Education
Iligan Medical Center College
Iligan City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

Reading Visual Arts
2nd Semester (Semi-Finals) SY 2020-2021
Prof. Ariel Gloria C. Punzalan
The Reading Visual Arts Professor

By
Duhaylungsod, Shaynie T.
Ebuenga, Jenelyn A.

BSED
February 2020
 ABSTRACT

Research has shown that the experience of a meaningful life for adolescents is an aid

in development and related to psychological health, physical health, and academic

functioning (e.g., Brassai, Piko, & Steger, 2011; Kiang & Fuligni, 2009). Most meaning

research to date, however, has primarily focused on adulthood, with few studies that

focus on meaning in adolescence. Even fewer studies have addressed barriers or

facilitators to experiencing meaning in adolescence. In the second part of the study,

two. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) related variables, mindfulness and

self-compassion, are examined as factors positively related to meaning. A hierarchical

regression was then performed to determine if these variables predicted meaning.

Results revealed that meaning was inversely related to bullying perpetration, but not

bullying victimization, and positively related to mindfulness and self-compassion.

Controlling for all other factors, self-compassion independently predicted meaning,

which suggests that self-compassion may be highly relevant to an adolescent’s

development of meaning. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.

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 ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

The researcher’s wishes to express their deepest gratitude to the special people who

have extended their assistance for the success of this study; The Almighty God, who is

the source of life and strength of knowledge and wisdom. Mrs. Ariel Gloria C. Punzalan

for her genuine apprehension, encouragement, patient and guidance and whose

expertise and knowledge were generously shared; To the fellow classmates, for sharing

their knowledge and idea in helping the researchers in the construction of the project;

To the beloved parents and guardians for untiring love and support; The Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ, this piece of work was heartily offered.

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 DEDICATION

The researchers would like to dedicate this study to the Almighty God, to their beloved

families and friends, to their Alma Mater- the Iligan Medical Center College, to their

classmates, instructors and to the professor of this subject Reading Visual Arts Mrs.

Ariel Gloria C. Punzalan. The researchers would also like to dedicate this project to their

fellow criminology students; they knew that they will serve this information to them.

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 PREFACE

As a part of the Education Curriculum and in order to gain practical knowledge in the

field of education, we are required to make a report on “The Dangers of Live-in

Arrangements”. The basic objective behind doing this project report is to get more

knowledge and understanding about cohabitation that could affect the performance of

the children. In this project report we have included various concepts, effects and

implications regarding the live-in arrangement. Doing this project report helped us to

enhance our knowledge regarding situations of the couples when they plan to cohabit.

Through this report we come to know about importance of team work and role of

devotion towards the work.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ii
Acknowledgement iii
Dedication iv
Preface v

Chapter I: Introduction

Background of the Study 1-4

Conceptual Framework 5
Significance of Study 5-6
Statement of the Problem 6
Limitations of the Study 7
Definition of Terms Used 7-8

Chapter II: Review of Related Literature

Related Literature 9-13

References

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 Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Water does not flow upward to the mountains separating but downward to the

seas joining. Man and women are downward course of each other. A live-in relationship

is an arrangement of two people make a life together without entering into formal

relationship called marriage. They are involved in a sexually intimate relationship on

long-term or can even be only a permanent basis. Live-in relationship is merely

common since then because everyone has different thoughts and perceptions when it

comes to relationship basis. There are so many reasons for a couple to decide living

together but this kind of situation must think carefully since it involves certain kind of

responsibilities. A situation that must evaluate before deciding on taking the step, it

might lead to only a permanent basis or long term basis kind of relation. In view of the

fact that the live-in relation must have a great commitment and strong bond of your

partner, as you might expect a burden or a lot of pressure of responsibilities as acting

as a married couple in a one house. You can possess a person`s heart, but you can

never control his mind and his actions. Your partner has a will of his own. If he/she

wants to leave you, nothing in the world can really stop him/her. Living arrangements in

later life are dynamic, with changes associated with life events such as widowhood or

moves into an institution. If, for instance, you feel that the passion in your relationship is

losing its magic you can`t force your partner to bring it back. Although there is no legal

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definition of living together, it generally means to live together as a couple without being

married. Couples who live together are sometimes called common-law partners. This is

just another way of saying a couple are living together. You might be able to formalize

aspects of your status with a partner by drawing up a legal agreement called

a cohabitation contract or living together agreement. A living together agreement

outlines the rights and obligations of each partner towards each other.

Live-in relationship is like a marriage without legalities. You can even know your

partner better and understand each other in a deeper level. Nevertheless, some couple

likes to contact with its partner in a live-in relationship situation before they can get

married for real to merely experience and think deeper what it is like to take step further

in life. Living together is considered to be more stressful than being married. Thinking

they might not want to risk being tied with a messy divorce battle. Yet any quarrel or

fight can lead to a split, whereas in a marriage a fight is often followed by reasoning and

resolving. Cohabiting have higher levels of depression and substance abuse.  Everyone

hates fighting, the complaints of past and present with renewed anger. Negative

comments are thrown to relieve past hurt than to reach peace. This will only create new

pain and even more resentment. As a result, one of the partners may feel ‘suffocated’ in

the relationship due to the lack of personal space. Some may even feel a sense of

monotony which causes trouble for the relationship and could eventually lead to a heart-

breaking split. Your legal rights as a partner may depend on whether you are married or

living together.

Living together with someone is sometimes also called cohabitation.  According

to a recent article, there has been a shift in society from dating to cohabiting before

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marriage. Today a staggering 7.5 million couples live together.  Contrast that to about

450,000 in 1960.  The vast majority of young adults in their 20s will have lived with a

romantic partner at least once before marriage.  Couples who cohabit before marriage

tend to make less of a commitment, are more unsatisfied with their marriage, and as a

result, are more likely to divorce. Negative outcomes like these are called the

cohabitation effect. This difference in perspective of men and women leads to a lower

level of commitment even after the marriage.  But couples do agree that their standards

for a live-in partner are lower than they are for a spouse. While it might be fun and

economical at the time to live together, some cohabiters wish they would not have spent

so many years on a relationship that would have lasted only months had they not been

living together. Generally speaking, you will have fewer rights if you're living together

than if you're married. Sociologist have exploded some certain myths about the benefits

of live-in arrangements, which this situation is very common in many countries of the

West, specifically in Europe. A rationalization of ten given for starting with a live-in

arrangement is to avoid a broken home in the future by just fist checking the

compatibility between the partners. In contrary, in the average research of the

researchers the result shows that couple who live together before marriage have double

chances of divorce or break-ups. Living in does not help build the habits of commitment,

mutual communication and support that are at foundation of marriage. Spouse who

eventually divorce tend to be the people who don’t have high level of commitment and

self-sacrifice to always seek the good of the other person. Thus, it has been found that

living together is the worst possible preparation for marriage because it is like a training

for divorcement.

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 Living arrangements for women and men are changing. Young women and men

attend more years of schooling, enter the job market later in life and delay marrying and

having children. In some countries, these changes may extend the time that young

people are living with their parents. Family models are also changing. Many young

women and men choose to live in cohabiting unions. Women and men of reproductive

age are more often than in the past among the never married, separated or divorced

and tend to be more often lone parents with children. In particular, lone mothers with

young children are more frequent and more likely to be poor than lone fathers with

young children. Older persons are increasingly found in independent living

arrangements, either as couples or as persons living alone, without the economic

support or company of their children. These tendencies have been observed mostly in

the more developed regions, but lately in the less developed regions as well. Living

arrangements of older persons are different for women than for men. Women tend to

live longer than men and are less likely to remarry after divorce or after their spouse

dies. As a result, in countries in the more developed regions, where the proportion of

older persons in independent living arrangements is large, older women tend to live

alone more often than older men. This situation places older women in greater need of

outside assistance in the event of illness or disability, increasing their likelihood of

institutionalization. Older women living alone are also at greater risk of poverty. By

comparison, men’s chances of being unmarried at older ages are smaller than women’s

and they therefore have a lower probability of living alone. However, when they are

unmarried, older men are more likely than unmarried older women to live alone.

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Conceptual Framework

FINANCIAL STABILITY

LIVE-IN ARRANGEMENTS
DEPRESSION

LACK OF COMMITMENT

Significance of Study

When it comes to emotional well-being, young adults - especially women - seem

to get as much of a boost from living with a partner as they do from marriage.

Cohabitation living together without the commitment of marriage is on the rise. Given

this new information about the possible benefits of co-habitation and the controversy

surrounding long-term outcomes, it's a good idea to examine the fears and ask

questions before making this important step.

The generalization of this present study would be great contribution to the vast

knowledge in relation to The Danger in Live-In Arrangements. Vitals result of this

investigation could be highly significant and beneficially specially to:

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Parents: This refers to Parents who is live-in arrangement. In this study, they’re the

instruments in the materialization of the young adults. Parents give exact information

the danger of live-in arrangements in young adults. The parents can give the

advantage and disadvantages of live-in arrangements. We can gain information to the

parents that can help the young adults.

Young Adults: They are the main concern in this study. In generation many young

adults don’t know the danger in live-in arrangement. They find it relationship goals

when is not really a goals. In this study the findings of this research will open mind,

enlightened and become beneficial to the young adults.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer the following question:

1. Does cohabiting parents affects the child’s school performance?

2. What are the challenges of cohabitation?

3. What are the effects of live-in arrangements?

4. Does cohabiting have lower income than married couples?

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Limitations of the Study

This study focused on knowing the dangers of live-in arrangements. The study

will include various effects on the couple emotional development, financial stability, its

difficulty in work, personal intimate sexual pleasure, fights (violence) and religion. This

study is limited only to the thoughts and theoretical based on the dangers in living

together with your partner. The selected respondents will specify their thoughts and

ideas to the impacts of live-in arrangements in our City. There will be 60 limited

respondents coming from the students of both private and public college schools. The

conducting of questions will be in the following days not reach within five days.

S/N Name of the School Private Public No.

1 Iligan Medical Center School 30
2 MSU- Iligan Institute of 30

Technology
TOTAL OF RESPONDENTS: 60

Definition of Terms Used

 Live-in arrangements the way someone organizes how and where they will live.

 Cohabitation the state of living together and having a sexual relationship

without being married.

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 Live-in Relationship in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term

relationship that resembles a marriage.

 Marriage formally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal

relationship.

 Intimate Relationship interpersonal relationship that involves physical or

emotional intimacy.

 Commitment the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause

 Legal allowable or enforceable by being in conformity with the law

 Risk a situation involving exposure to danger.

 Quarrel a heated argument or disagreement, typically about a trivial issue and

between people who are usually on good term.

 Divorce the legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body.

 Resentment bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly.

 Break-ups is the termination of an intimate relationship by any means other than

death. The act is commonly termed "dumping [someone]" in slang when it is

initiated by one partner.

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 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents a review of the related literature of live in arrangements. It

includes their lifestyle, financial stability, work problems, religion and etc. Especially, its

danger in mental, emotional and physical health of the couples.

Related Literature

Despite the fact that such a relationship isn't bound by the lawfulness of

marriage, the lady just as her kids are secured by law to guarantee their privileges.

Couples live together, instead of getting married, for an assortment of reasons. They

might need to test their similarity before they focus on a lawful association. They might

need to keep up their single status for budgetary reasons. Whatever the reasons,

somewhere in the range of 1970 and 1990, the quantity of couples living respectively

outside of marriage quadrupled, from 523,000 to about 3 million. Cohabitation often

exhibit many of the same characteristics (Brown, 2005; Casper & Sayer,2000;

Kiernan, 2004, p. 985): ‘‘shared home, economic support, sexual intimacy, and not

infrequently, children.’’ Increases in cohabitation have been observed across race and

ethnic lines and across socio-economic categories, with cohabiting relationships now

frequently including children. Couples with less education and fewer financial assets are

more apt to cohabit. Having low social status (education or employment) will be a

greater barrier to marriage for men in the Philippines than for women, thus making

cohabitation more likely for them. Cohabitation experience will be more common among

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lower class than among higher class Filipinos. Liberal attitudes on a host of issues

(household division of labor, legalization of divorce, and acceptability of cohabitation)

will be more likely to have co-habited than will those who report more conservative

attitudes.

These couples face a portion of indistinguishable lawful issues from wedded

couples, just as certain issues that their wedded companions need never consider. It is

neither true that cohabiting is a way of adapting to modern times.  Historical research

shows that cohabitation and contraception were common in the ancient Roman Empire. 

This led to the mistreatment of women, considered as toys for sexual pleasure, the

degeneration of families, and the eventual moral decay of society.  The Christian vision

of marriage and family brought respect, dignity and happiness to families and society. 

Those who are cohabiting swear that they love one another and want to be together as

early as possible without the formalities of marriage.  These people should be told that if

their love is real and not a matter of volatile feeling, they will want to give the best for

each other and for their mutual relationship.  Research and proven wisdom have shown

that cohabitation is bad for the partners, for their future marriage and their children.

The lack of supervision and the absence of close relationships between the

teenager and his or her parents are factors that influence delinquency. A family may

influence a person’s behavior either negatively or positively both at childhood and

adulthood. An intact family can be said to be a functioning union between a mother and

a father, so when a break up exist, the turmoil may affect a child to a greater extent.

According to Villegas (2016), that a good number of his workers, most of whom

are Catholics, had not been married in Church and were just “living in”, he went out of

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his way to consult a Catholic priest about how to convince these couples who were

cohabitating to be formally married in their faith. Just using his common sense, he was

convinced that people in live-in conditions could pose a danger to his workforce and can

affect the productivity of his workers. True enough, his instincts are supported by social

science research. On the contrary, studies show that couples who live together before

marriage have double the chances of divorce than those who don’t. Living in does not

help build the habits of commitment, mutual communication and support that are at the

foundation of marriage. Spouses who eventually divorce tend to be people who do not

have a high level of commitment and self-sacrifice to always seek the good of the other

person. Then there is the excuse of saving up first in order to attain financial stability.

Ironically, research has found that cohabiting couples have lower incomes than married

couples. A possible explanation is that married men with children are motivated and

committed to become more responsible and productive. In marriage, there is more

sharing of economic and social resources, thus acting like an insurance pool as

protection from uncertainties. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that people who

are cohabiting experience lower levels of subjective well-being and higher levels of

depression, domestic violence and murder. One research suggests that due to the lack

of long-term commitment, couples who live together without the benefit of marriage are

less motivated to develop their conflict resolution and support skills. Also, compared to

married couples, live-in couples are less connected to the community and the church.

Thus, they get less emotional, social and material support.

The poverty rate among children of cohabiting couples is five-fold greater than

the rate among children in married-couple households. Compared to children of

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married biological parents, children age 12-17 with cohabiting parents are six times

more likely to exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. Likewise, adolescents from

cohabiting households are 122% more likely to be expelled from school and 90% more

likely to have a low Grade Point Average (GPA). One of the greatest problems of

children of cohabiting couples is the high risk that the couple will break up. Cohabitation

is condemned by most religions because it is all about pre-marital sex. In Islam, living

in zina, fornication, is absolutely forbidden and is severely condemned as irresponsible

and immoral. Buddhists considered it kamesu micchacara, a sexual violation. It is

condemned by Hinduism. The Jewish Torah prohibits it: There shall be no kedeshah,

promiscuity, among the daughters and sons of Israel.

More recently, Pope Francis in the “Joy of Love” presents a very strong case

against cohabitation: “Marriage is a means of expressing that we have truly left the

security of the home in which we grew up in order to build other strong ties and to take

on a new responsibility for another person.  This is much more meaningful than a mere

spontaneous association for mutual gratification, which would turn marriage into a

purely private affair.  As a social institution, marriage protects and shapes a shared

commitment to deeper growth in love and commitment to another, for the good of

society as a whole.  That is why marriage is more than a fleeting fashion; it is of

enduring importance.  Its essence derives from our human nature and social character. 

It involves a series of obligations born of love itself, a love so serious and generous that

it is ready to face any risk.” Nicolas (1994) nothing should be more important to the

person you marry than your spiritual well-being. Some couples actually decide to

cohabit because of its differences of religion. Church leaders even warn that they may

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not go to heaven if they have a relationship with someone outside the faith. For couples

intending to get married but have contrasting religious beliefs, the primary test of the

relationship. Most of the people will just have a live-in arrangement with their partner.

Cohabitation does not only hurt the live-in partners themselves. It is also a disservice to

society itself.

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 REFERENCES

Villegas, B.M. (2016). Manila Bulletin. The Dangers of Live-in Arrangements, v5, p20-

21.

Holmes, M. (1994). Money Saver. Loving Too Much, Knowing Too Little, v5, p45.

Trinidad- Cordoviz, E (1994). Money Saver. Are You Sure You Know Your Lover Well

Enough? v4, p45.

Mercado, M. T. (1994). Money Saver. What If Your Parents Don’t Like Your Boyfriend,

v4,p16.

Ornstein, R. & Sebel, D. (1994). Money Saver. Sex and Scent, v5, p40.

Trinidad- Cordoviz, E (1994). Money Saver. Stop Telling Me Age Doesn’t Matter

Because It Does, v4, p40.

Buhain, J. A. (1994). Money Saver. Is It Love or Is It Lust? v4, p36-37.

Trinidad- Cordoviz, E. (1994). Money Saver. Seven Hard Truths About Relationship, v5,

p30-32.

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