Factors That Influence a Marriage's Staying Power

Researchers at Australian National University set out to discover what makes couples stick together and ended up with a long list of circumstances that make couples more likely to split up.

For six years, the study tracked 2,500 couples who were married or living together. Some factors that influence a relationship's staying power include:

• Age: A husband who is nine or more years older than his wife is twice as likely to get divorced. The same goes for a husband who marries before 25.
• Children: One-fifth of couples who have kids before marriage (either from a previous relationship or the same relationship) separated, compared to nine percent of couples without children born before marriage.
• Parents: Sixteen percent of people whose parents separated or divorced experienced marital separation, compared to 10 percent of those whose parents never separated.
• Past relationships: Partners who are on their second or third marriages are 90 percent more likely to separate than those on their first marriage.
• Smoking: When only one partner smokes, a couple is more likely to split up.

Are you surprised by any of these findings?

Source: Flickr User foundphotoslj