As controls in regression models predicting abuse, none of these factors individually explained the difference in partner abuse
between cohabitors and daters.
Not exact matches
On average, she reports,
cohabitors begin living together at an earlier age than marrying couples, but «when couples are compared by the age at which they move in together and start taking on the roles associated with marriage, there is no difference in divorce rates
between couples that lived together before marriage and those that didn't.»
Hitting Without a License: Testing Explanations for Differences in Partner Abuse
between Young Adult Daters and
Cohabitors
We know, for example, that there is a correlation
between cohabitation and higher rates of domestic violence, but it would be dangerous to conclude that a causal relation exists and recommend that
cohabitors should marry.