UCLA Study Finds Doubts About Getting Married May Be a Good Harbinger of Things to Come

A study by psychologists at the University of California at Los Angeles finds that women who had doubts about getting married before they were married were more likely to get divorced and more likely to be less satisfied with their marriage.

The study found that 47 percent of newlywed husbands and 38 percent of new wives said they had harbored doubts about getting married. Among women, 19 percent of those who had doubts before getting married were divorced four years later. Only 8 percent of those who did not have doubts prior to the marriage ceremony were divorced within four years. For men, 14 percent who expressed doubts before marriage were divorced within four years compared to 9 percent who did not have doubts about getting married.

In 36 percent of the newlywed couples, both the husband and wife said they had doubts before they were married. Twenty percent of these couples were divorced within four years.

The study, financed by the National Institute of Mental Health, will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Family Psychology.