Marriage Study Seeks Participants

Marriage in today’s society involves tasks that range from managing a budget to managing your temper, according to Sean Brotherson, North Dakota State University family researcher. “Added to the mix are lots of love, communication and common sense.”

The likelihood of divorce for an average married couple today is between 40 and 45 percent. But a recent study by sociologist Linda Waite from the University of Chicago shows that two-thirds of unhappily married individuals who avoided divorce or separation rated themselves as happily married five years later. “So ‘What happened?’ is the question that needs answering,” Brotherson says.

Brotherson is seeking to answer that question through a new study focused on couples that have put their marriages back together. “We know that many couples discuss separation or divorce but stick together. We want to learn how they successfully overcame their challenges. No one has really analyzed this phenomenon before.”

Brotherson is seeking interested couples that would be willing to be interviewed as part of the putting marriage back together study. “We need to learn from couples in stable marriage relationships who at one time in the past encountered the threat of separation or divorce.”

Couples interested in the study can receive more information or enroll in the study by contacting Brotherson at (701) 231-6143 or (701) 231-8113. Brotherson can also be e-mailed at sbrother@ndsuext.nodak.edu. Participating couples that meet the study guidelines will receive a gift certificate to a local restaurant or $25.

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Source: Sean Brotherson, (701) 231-6143, sbrother@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu