Approximately 10 to 15 years ago the Swedes became aware that the incidence of cohabitation under marriage-like conditions but without marriage had increased tremendously. This increasingly prevalent social behavior raised problems concerning the legal custody of the children of such unions and, ultimately, a way of granting unmarried parents…

There has been an enormous increase in the number of unmarried cohabiting couples in Sweden and Denmark and a decrease in the marriage rate. Is unmarried cohabitation a deviant behavior? This question is discussed and the answer is given that in Sweden it is not. (Author)