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HYATTSVILLE, Maryland, July 25, 2002 (LSN.ca) – A new study shows that, for those who want to increase the chances of a happy relationship, marriage is a much better bet than ‘living in sin’.  Couples who live together unmarried are more than twice as likely to split up than couples who tie the knot. In other words, people who live with their boyfriend or girlfriend have an almost 50-50 chance of break-up within five years—compared to 20% among married couples, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) based on a five-year survey period.  The 100-page report, by Dr. Matthew D. Bramlett and his team at NCHS in Hyattsville, Maryland, confirmed that married people, as reported in the Washington Times, “are likely to live longer, engage in less risky behavior, be more health conscious and have more satisfying sexual lives, higher wages and larger savings than unmarried people. Divorced people are often less happy, have more health problems, more social isolation, greater levels of depression and alcohol use and less satisfying sex lives.” The report adds that women suffer most from the economic consequences of separation and divorce. Bramlett commented: “We need to find a way to break the cycle of family instability.”  To read the NCHS press release and download the study see:  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/02facts/div_mar_cohab.htm   To read the Washington Times report see:  https://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020725-14950600.htm