The association between religiosity and marital outcome has been repeatedly demonstrated, but a complete understanding of this relationship is hindered by limitations of theory and method. The purpose of the current study was to test 3 explanatory models by assessing 2 samples of newlywed couples. Findings indicated that religiosity was associated with attitudes toward divorce, […]

Implicit in this debate are assumptions about the nature of relationships between unmarried parents, the extent of economic resources, and the prevalence of domestic violence and related risk factors. This brief uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the characteristics of unmarried couples and, more specifically, to determine what proportion […]

Although much has been learned from cross-sectional research on marriage, an understanding of how marriages develop, succeed, and fail is best achieved with longitudinal data. In view of growing interest in longitudinal research on marriage, the authors reviewed and evaluated the literature on how the quality and stability of marriages change over time. First, prevailing […]

As social science research data and government surveys increasingly show, the decline in marriagesince the 1960s has been accompanied by a rise in a number of serious social problems. Childrenborn out of wedlock or whose parents divorce are much more likely to experience poverty,abuse, and behavioral and emotional problems, have lower academic achievement, and use […]

Using a couple-centered approach, the authors examined assortative mating on a broad range of variables in a large (N = 291) sample of newlyweds. Couples showed substantial similarity on attitude-related domains but little on personality-related domains. Similarity was not due to social homogamy or convergence. The authors examined linear and curvilinear effects of spouse similarity […]

This brief describes the types of adaptation that are already underway in healthy marriage programs to address culturally diverse populations and provides examples. It identifies some of the key issues and challenges involved in making marriage education relevant for and accessible to culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged populations. It begins by explaining the marriage education […]

A long tradition of research and theory on gender, marriage, and mental health suggests that marital status is more important to men’s psychological wellbeing than women’s while marital quality is more important to women’s wellbeing than men’s. These beliefs rest largely on a theoretical and empirical foundation established in the 1970s, but, despite changes in […]

This article considers the quality of the evidence that marriage confers unique benefits, and that, as such, social policies should be enacted to encourage couples, particularly those with few economic resources, to get married and stay together. Public concern about the future of marriage in the United States, we show, is rooted in demographic changes […]

Professionals generally believe that couples who choose to attend marriage education programs are not as distressed as are clinical couples and that distressed couples are not good candidates for marriage education. We examined these assumptions in 129 married couples who enrolled in a PAIRS, Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (Gordon, 1994), marriage education course. […]

We document key facts about marriage and divorce, comparing trends through the past 150 years and outcomes across demographic groups and countries. While divorce rates have risen overthe past 150 years, they have been falling for the past quarter century. Marriage rates have also been falling, but more strikingly, the importance of marriage at different […]