interesting facts

From Psychology Today magazine (2003).
Recent research has found couples who participate in premarital education have stronger marriages than those who get hitched without such preparation.

Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah (BYU) and the University of Minnesota analyzed 23 studies conducted over the past 30 years to examine the effectiveness of premarital counseling programs. They found that couples who received counseling scored 30 percent higher on tests that rated their level of communication and overall satisfaction with their spouses. Premarital education often includes teaching couples about conflict resolution, marital roles, sexuality and financial management.

July 2006 USA Today
By Sharon Jayson
More couples are getting premarital education, perhaps thinking it may give their new marriages divorce protection. And new research suggests they may well be right. Premarital education "is associated with higher levels of marital satisfaction, lower levels of destructive conflicts and higher levels of interpersonal commitment to spouses," says the study, published this spring in the Journal of Family Psychology.

Based on a random phone survey of 3,344 adults in four states, it says couples who received premarital education had a 31% lower chance of divorce. The number of hours spent in premarital programs ranged from as little as a few hours to 20 hours. The median was eight hours.