A report published by the National Marriage Project showed that the number of Americans who have children and live together without being married has increased  twelve-fold since 1970.  The report states that children are now more likely to have unmarried parents than divorced ones.  The report also  states that the rise of cohabitation is a growing risk for children, and that their lives are less stable  in unmarried families.

The report  suggests a correlation with class. Americans with only a high school diploma are far more likely to cohabit than are college graduates. The educated and affluent enjoy relatively strong, stable families. Cohabiting parents are more than twice as likely to break up as parents who are married. Divorce is so complicated that a married couple will try to work things out rather than go through a divorce, especially when children are involved.