Will your marriage last? Use empirical evidence to defend your response.

Will your marriage last? Use empirical evidence to defend your response.

Why relationships end:
Why is the overall divorce rate so high? And why does it vary across the provinces?

• What we know, is that people tend to stay married if:
• Were married after age 20
• Both grew up in stable, two-parent homes
• Date a long while before marriage
• Are well and similarly educated
• Have a stable income from a good job
• Live in a small town or on a farm
• Did not cohabitate or become pregnant before marriage
• Are religiously committed
• Are of similar age, faith, and education

But let's say that a relationship is failing. Caryl Rusbalt has argued that three common ways of coping with a failing relationship are with the following responses (in addition to the 4th option of exiting the relationship):
Some people exhibit loyalty: they stay with the partner and hope things will get better
Others (especially men) exhibit neglect: they ignore the other person and hope it will go away
Others will voice their concerns and take active steps to improve the relationship -- this is clearly the best response as it provides the opportunity to improve things before the relationship ends.