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Research conducted by Cambridge based think tank, the Jubilee Centre, has shown that cohabiting couples are six times more likely to separate before their first child reaches five when compared to their married counterparts. The study, which saw researchers analyse data from more than 14,000 households and 22,265 adults, revealed that 37 per cent of parents who were cohabiting when their child was born will separate before the child’s fifth birthday. In comparison, only 6 per cent of couples who were married when the child was born had separated. 66 per cent of all cohabiting couples had separated before the child reached 16, compared with only 16 per cent of married couples – a fourfold increase. Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of Work and Pensions, warned last year that children from broken homes are nine times more likely to commit a crime than those from stable families. Dr John Hayward, director of the think-tank, said: “All the evidence suggests that families headed by married, biological parents who have not previously lived together provide the best environment for both the individuals involved and their children. “This has huge personal, social, economic and political consequences for us all.”