Predicting Marital Satisfaction from Premarital Conditions

Introduction

The institution of marriage is the most common form of social partnership in modern society, the foundation for the traditional family unit, and a deeply complex integration of two lives into one shared experience. And yet, marriage is also a context in which discontent, abuse, infidelity, and uncertainty can become defining characteristics. The balance and compatibility achieved by a married couple will generally be proportional to the level of contentment or satisfaction reported by partners with one another and with the general state of their marriage. Achieving this balance, however, is contingent upon many overlapping factors that are as nuanced and varied as individual dispositions themselves.

This may be demonstrated by the particularly high rate of divorce in Western society, which seems to suggest that many couples have difficulty predicting, achieving, or maintaining marital satisfaction. Available research indicates that the modern divorce rate is perceived in a general sense as being statistically high — and according to most available research, can be illustrated as such.

Robinson (2009) finds that "the media frequently reports that 50% of American marriages will end in divorce. This number appears to have been derived from very skimpy data related to a single county or state. However, it appears to be reasonably close to the probable value. The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that 'probably, 40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue. However, that is only a projection and a prediction'" (Robinson, 1). These findings suggest there is a great imperative to understand what produces marital satisfaction, which is a likely precondition for creating a marriage that resists these trends. There is a clear demand to identify and understand patterns that can be used to prefigure marital success based on mutual partner satisfaction. Moreover, as a measure of preemptive assessment, the focus of this study will be on the period and process of premarital courtship, during which many of the relevant patterns should become apparent.

This study proposes to predict marital satisfaction according to the presence of certain constructs during the process of courtship and premarital relationship development. Focusing on several major constructs that appear recurrently in the literature, the research conducted here attempts to produce a comprehensive analysis of what predicts a high level of marital satisfaction.

It is assumed that the decision to pursue a lifelong commitment with another person — to start a family and share experiences, responsibilities, and finances — is driven by emotional, biological, and sociological imperatives. However, these imperatives are rarely sufficient for understanding the far more complex issue of what makes such a lifelong commitment viable and lasting. The intention here is not to conflate issues of marital satisfaction with divorce. Divorce, while an indicator of marital dissatisfaction, can hardly be thought of as the only such indicator. Many marriages persist in a state of discontent, with religious imperatives or other internal factors preventing members of an unhappy union from seeking divorce. This study is therefore undertaken as a way of reporting on the constructs most directly affiliated with indices of marital satisfaction and applying them to the presumed correlation between behaviors in courtship and realities in marriage.

The constructs selected for examination are chosen based on their recurrence and replicated reliability across multiple studies on marital satisfaction, particularly as these relate to premarital realities. As we consider these constructs individually, it should be understood that there is no consensus on a required balance among them. Predicting marital satisfaction is far from an exact science, and while this analysis aims to establish a clearer picture of the conditions that can project general marital satisfaction, the proportion between these conditions and the degree to which they overlap is both unclear and subject to variation. With that said, we consider the factors predicting marital success to be relational commitment, spiritual compatibility, and the establishment of complementary relational roles.

Factors Predicting Marital Success or Failure

Among the factors that may be apparent well before marriage is proposed, relational commitment is prominent. Relational commitment is a construct largely based on internal features of the relationship, proceeding from the propensity of the partners toward a shared rather than self-interested orientation. Relational commitment denotes that the individuals engaged in a romantic relationship share the same level of prioritization where that relationship is concerned. To this end, Gunter (2004) reports that "commitment has proven to be a meaningful construct in the study of marriage. Adams and Jones found that the various models of commitment could each be classified based on the extent to which they emphasize three distinct dimensions of commitment: attraction, morality, and constraint" (Gunter, vi).

The Gunter study also provides insight into one of the core complexities relating to this construct: the challenge of assessing its presence in relationships that will inherently differ considerably in nature. Gunter concedes this difficulty, demonstrating the challenge of using this factor to predict marital satisfaction. Changes and fluctuations of need within a marriage will prompt different levels of demand and different expressions of commitment, both across different relationships and at different points within any given relationship. This is a construct that can be redefined according to situation or context, but which in any event shows a high correlation to marital satisfaction where partners' perceptions of each other's commitment are concerned. Indications during courtship and premarital involvement should provide grounds for making deductions about the level of commitment demonstrated by a partner, and the sense that this is present or absent should be seen as a meaningful predictor of marital satisfaction.

This is likewise true of the way that marital partners approach their respective commitments to faith. The construct of spirituality — used interchangeably here with the term religiosity — generates significant speculation and examination in the literature. One pattern that emerges is that many marriages or relationships requiring counseling tend to seek it in a spiritual context. Clergy such as priests and rabbis are frequently appealed to for marital guidance, imbuing the subject with the moral, ideological, cultural, and community-oriented dimensions that are distinct from one religious context to the next.

Spiritual Compatibility and Religiosity

As a result, this construct has a definite impact on how marital satisfaction is understood and experienced. Parker (2009) provides a useful definition: "religiosity, a general term irrespective of any specific religion, encompasses an individual's religious beliefs, further adherence to prescribed behavioral attributes associated with religion, and the significance that religion plays in an individual's everyday life. Several studies have shown a significant relationship between religiosity and marital satisfaction (Fenell, 1993; Filsinger & Wilson, 1984; Schumm, Bollman, & Jurich, 1982). The teachings of many of the world's major religions encourage people to work out marital problems and avoid divorce" (Parker, 5–6).

This simultaneously promotes the impression that religiosity prefigures marital satisfaction and the likelihood that some marriages remain intact despite discontent due to religious pressures. That said, spiritual commonality is viewed as a construct that significantly improves the long-term likelihood that conflict will not arise from religious difference, which in turn may function as a viable predictor of marital satisfaction.

Conclusion

Robinson, B. A. (2009). U.S. divorce rates: For various faith groups, age groups, and geographical areas. ReligiousTolerance.org.

Weiss, J., & Hughes, J. (2005). Want collaboration? Harvard Business Review, 83(3).