The creation of this pseudo-counter thread was informed by the comments I read on a thread. As is usually the case, there were those who argued for and those who argued against marrying virgins or non-virgins. We all know the stance of religion (Islam & Christianity and I dare say Judaism *don't really know much about it*). Similarly, we all know the socio-cultural stance on this issue of virginity, more so, by virtue of the fact that we are Africans. This challenge /dilemma our youths have to surmount each and every single day of their live has been the subject of much debate for a very long time now. It's a pervasive dilemma.
It is no brain-cracker that, we, Nigerians in particular, like making generalizations based on personal prejudices or a few insignificant personal experiences, without any sort of scientific prove whatsoever.
I therefore felt a need to find out if there are actually scientific studies to further corroborate or disprove the religious & socio-cultural stance on this issue. I mean for Pete's sake, this is the 21st century!!!! I was almost certain there would be a wealth of information /data on this issue. And I was proven right!!!
I would present below a summary of some of the results of the researchers findings.
P. S. Feel free to research & also let us know if there are enough contrary results.
The result of the study isn't mine. I would provide references where necessary.
Thank you.

love 2 but miss out

DIVORCE RATE IN THE UNITED STATES
divorce and marriage rates
Marriage rates in the US are decreasing as divorce rates are increasing.
The marriage rate in the United States is currently 6.8 per 1,000 total population.
60 percent of second marriages end in divorce.
73 percent of all third marriages end in divorce.
The United States has the 6th highest divorce rate in the world.

Everything You Need To Know About Divorce - Facts, Studies, and Statistics | WF Lawyers. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/

Isn't this rather alarming. You would agree with me that, arbitrarily, this is fast becoming the order of the day in Nigeria as well.
Proponents of Coit*us before marriage (sample/taste before buying, know before leaping) are always quick to justify their support for this by saying Coital harmony (sexual harmony), and by extension, marital success and harmony, is largely dependent on the ability of their spouse to fulfill their sexual needs. Agreed !!! But have you ever wondered why, despite their assertion, available scientific data shows otherwise !!!
The average Western Society has low sexual inhibitions compared to the developing countries. So please tell, what could be the reason for this alarming rate of marital disharmony? Didn't they test the waters before jumping in fully? Didn't they confirm their coital compatibility before saying "I do". Didn't they see their spouses "assets" before agreeing to "imprison themselves in the cell of marriage". Didn't they know fully well what they were getting themselves in to? All this questions beg for answers!!!
The results of some studies carried out there would attempt to profer answers to some of these questions. Please kindly stay " tuned" and read on.

Well, in as much as I'lld really like to poke a hole in my wife my self, who am I to reject her if she's already been poked? She still remains the chosen one

Now i know some folks would argue that some of the results of the researches i would present here were actually researches carried out in the West. Thats true!!! However, we all know there is a general dearth of scientific data and researches in Africa and Nigeria specifically. So please indulge me, and accept that by extension, it may actually be applicable to us as well.

Please note that: Almost all Americans have sex before marriage
Data from the 2002 survey indicate that by age 20, 77% of respondents had had sex, 75% had had premarital sex, and 12% had married; by age 44, 95% of respondents (94% of women, 96% of men, and 97% of those who had ever had sex) had had premarital sex. Even among those who abstained until at least age 20, 81% had had premarital sex by age 44.

Finer, L. B. Trends in premarital sex in the United States, 1954-2003. Public Health Reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 122(1), 73–8. Retrieved from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1802108&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract

African Picture
Contrary to the common belief that teenage premarital sexual activity is a new phenomenon caused by socioeconomic development, particularly Western education, the data show that in most countries sexual activity among unmarried adolescents was also common in the past, and that increases across cohorts have occurred mostly in countries where the prevalence was already high. For most countries, there is little support for theories claiming that education is associated with loose morals and high levels of premarital sexual activity.

Gage, A. J., & Meekers, D. Sexual activity before marriage in sub-Saharan Africa. Social Biology, 41(1-2), 44–60. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7973840

una no dey go church?wetin una dey do here?common make una off that phone bath dey go church .rubbish

Why not, who no like better thing

One of the ultimate aims/goal of all humans, by virtue of the fact that we are social beings, is to find love and comfort in each other. Men and women crave love, affection, food, good health, Coit*us (sexual intercourse) etc. A large part of our lives are spent looking and searching for ways to fulfill these needs. In fact, we are physiologically wired to do so.
We seek for warmth and comfort in our loved ones. Nothing beats that feeling !!! Love of a mother for her child, love of a father for his kids, siblings love, love between members of a religion, love between couples etc.
A very important type of this love we all seek is that between couples- between a man and a woman. It is a means of procreation and ensuring perpepuity of the human race. This can "only" be achieved through Coit*us.

Stll more alarming FACTS. HOW OFTEN DIVORCE TAKES PLACE
Every 13 seconds, there is one divorce in America.
That equates to 277 divorces per hour, 6,646 divorces per day, 46,523 divorces per week, and 2,419,196 divorces per year. That means:
There are 9 divorces in the time it takes for a couple to recite their wedding vows (2 minutes).
Among all Americans 18 years of age or older, whether they have been married or not, 25 percent have gone through a marital split.
15 percent of adult women in the United States are divorced or separated today, compared with less than one percent in 1920.
The average first marriage that ends in divorce lasts about 8 years.

Everything You Need To Know About Divorce - Facts, Studies, and Statistics | WF Lawyers. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE MORE OR LESS LIKELY TO DIVORCE

Your age-
48 percent of those who marry before the age of 18 are likely to divorce within 10 years, compared to 25 percent of those who marry after the age of 25.
If both you and your partner have had previous marriages, you are 90 percent more likely to get divorced than if this had been the first marriage for both of you.

Everything You Need To Know About Divorce - Facts, Studies, and Statistics | WF Lawyers. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/

COHABITATION – IF YOU LIVED WITH YOUR PARTNER BEFORE YOU GOT MARRIED

60 percent of cohabiting couples will eventually marry. However, living together prior to marriage can increase the chance of getting divorced by as much as 40 percent.
If you are a female serial cohabiter – a woman who has lived with more than one partner before your first marriage – then you’re 40 percent more likely to get divorced than women who have never done so.
Couples who met in bars were 24 percent more likely to get divorced than expected.

Everything You Need To Know About Divorce - Facts, Studies, and Statistics | WF Lawyers. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/

Your Sexual History

Women who lost their virginity as a teenager are more than twice as likely to get divorce in the first 5 years of marriage than women who waited until age 18 or older.

A 2011 study at the University of Iowa found that for both men and women, the loss of virginity before age 18 was correlated with a greater number of occurrences of divorce within the first 10 years of marriage.
When compared to women who began sexual activity in their early 20s, girls who initiated sexual activity at ages 13 or 14 were less than half as likely to be in stable marriages in their 30s. – (in this study a stable marriage was defined as a marriage of over five years).

Everything You Need To Know About Divorce - Facts, Studies, and Statistics | WF Lawyers. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/

The harmful effects of early sexual activity and multiple sexual partners among women
Women with 6 or more pre marital sexual partners are almost 3 times less likely to be in a stable marriage.

Isn't this ironic

TrapKNNG:
Well, in as much as I'lld really like to poke a hole in my wife my self, who am I to reject her if she's already been poked? She still remains the chosen one

still the chosen one even when the hole has reached its yield point and thr is a permanent enlargement

Those who live together before marriage have higher separation and divorce rates.
The National Survey of Families and Households indicates that "unions begun by cohabitation are almost twice as likely to dissolve within 10 years compared to all first marriages: 57% to 30%."

Reference: Sociological Reasons Not to Live Together. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.leaderu.com/critical/cohabitation-html

Those who live together before marriage have unhappier marriages.

A study by the National Council on Family Relations of 309 newlyweds found that those who cohabited first were less happy in marriage

Sociological Reasons Not to Live Together. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.leaderu.com/critical/cohabitation-html

Those who are sexually active before marriage are much more likely to divorce.



Sociological Reasons Not to Live Together. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.leaderu.com/critical/cohabitation-html

Those who have had premarital sex are more likely to have extramarital affairs as well.
Premarital sexual attitudes and behavior do not change after one marries; if a woman lives with a man before marriage, she is more likely to cheat on him after marriage.

Research indicates that if one is willing to experience sex before marriage, a higher level of probability exists that one will do the same afterwards. This is especially true for women; those who engaged in sex before marriage are more than twice as likely to have extramarital affairs as those who did not have premarital sex.

Sociological Reasons Not to Live Together. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.leaderu.com/critical/cohabitation-html

Those having premarital sex may be fooled into marrying a person who is not right for them.

Sex can emotionally blind. Real love can stand the test of time without the support of physical intimacy.
"If you establish a mutually satisfying sexual relationship, you lose objectivity and actually cheat on the test of time. The only way to rationally decide whether your love is for keeps is to remove any preoccupation with eros, sexual love. Otherwise you may marry a mirage, not a person you really know."

Sociological Reasons Not to Live Together. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.leaderu.com/critical/cohabitation-html

Those who live together do not experience the best sex.

The best sex is found in the marriage relationship. It is reported that if a couple abstains from sex before marriage, they are 29 to 47 percent more likely to enjoy sex afterward.
In a study by Dr. Evelyn Duvall and Dr. Judson Landis, evidence was found that premarital sex was not as satisfying.

Sociological Reasons Not to Live Together. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.leaderu.com/critical/cohabitation-html

YES! God prepares you for the partner you re prepared for....