Individuals with happy marriages can expect many benefits besides living with their best friend. Research shows that compared to unmarried individuals; those that are married “are more likely to live longer, are less likely to be ill, are less prone to mental illness, and are likely to score high on measures of general psychological well-being” (Friedman et al.,1995).
Here in America we have one of the highest divorce rates in the world at 50%. One thing that you could do to improve your chances of a successful marriage is move to a country with a lower divorce rate ! It is interesting to note that Japan, Spain, Israel and Italy have a divorce rate that is about 20%. Although those are lovely countries with many things to offer, lets assume that you want to stay in the USA or better yet, Fort Worth, Texas. So what can you do to improve your odds at success?
As already mentioned, several researchers have spent time investigating this topic. However, five different research studies (Levenson et al., 1993, McGoldrick, Heinman & Carter, 1993, Russell & Wells, 1994, Skolnick, 1981) agree that the following items predict “satisfied marriage partners”:
• similar in religion, education, socioeconomic status and age
• 20 years old or older at the time of marriage
• have been in the relationship at least 6 months before marriage
• relationship with in-laws is warm and positive
• families of origin have stable marital patterns
• financially secure
• good at conflict resolution
• not impulsive
• no children and no pregnancy until after the first year of marriage
Of course there are couples all across Fort Worth that have beat the odds and made their marriage work even though they may have had one, two, three or more of these items working against them. But the research shows that the more of this criteria that you meet, the higher your chances of a successful marriage.
Nobody trips over mountains.
It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.
Pass all the pebbles in your path
and you will find you have crossed the mountain.
Author Unknown
Want to read more about Love and Marriage? Click on subscribe and you will be notified by e mail when there is a new article.
Source
www.quotegarden.com
Morrison, A., Shaffer, A. (2002). Research stories for lifespan development.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
LINKS TO MORE ARTICLES ABOUT LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Marital bliss - doing things together its not exactly working for Rand Quaid
Did alcholg ruin this marriage or was it something else?
Five hints for managing your stress level
Love gone bad - the signs of emtional abuse
Comments