Perception of Youth Towards Live-In Relationships in India

“A live-in relationship is an arrangement where two unmarried people live together on a long-term basis in an emotionally or sexually intimate relationship” (Gopal, n.d.). Live-in relationships have seen a remarkable rise in the Indian society in the past decade. This rise can be attributed to the changing perception of youth towards live-in relationships, the need to test compatibility before marriage or to establish financial security before marriage. This paper aims to study the current attitude of Indian youth towards heterosexual cohabitation, popularly known as live-in relationships. This paper has tried to understand whether gender-based differences play an important role in the formation of attitudes towards live-in relationships, whether live-in relationships have become a presumption for marriage and if it has taken precedence over the institution of marriage. I constructed a questionnaire to assess the current attitude of youth towards live-in relationships and used the survey method to collect data. According to the results, it can be said that gender-based differences play an important role in the formation of attitudes towards live-in relationships. Although live-in relationships help in assessing compatibility before marriage, it has not become a presumption for marriage, so it would be incorrect to say that live-in relationships have become a testing ground for marriage. The results also indicate that live-in relationships have not taken precedence over marriage.