Love is a many-splendored thing, or so the movies tell us. And, despite some reports and surveys that say its relevance has come and gone, marriage remains for many the ultimate expression of love. Our changing society’s attitudes toward cohabitation and child-rearing may have made marriage less important, and the number of marriages in the US has declined while the population has remained relatively steady. And of those marriages, many still result in divorce. Yet, over two million marriages occur annually in America and, according to a recent poll commissioned by Thomson Reuters, quite a few of those marriages are happy.
The poll, conducted by the research company Ipsos and reported in the Chicago Tribune, questioned over 1700 Americans either married or living together. Of those questioned, a staggering 94 percent reported being either “happy” or “very happy” in their relationships. In the face of a 45 percent rate of divorce in first-time marriages, such a number could come as a surprise. It is important, however, to keep a few things in mind when analyzing such statistics.
For one thing, polls rely on self-reporting, and many people wish to report that their marriages are more successful than they actually are. Certified couples therapist Donald Cole of the Gottfried Institute called these statistics “a good starting point” when beginning couples therapy, but that the best way to become educated about a couple’s dynamic is by “direct observation and analysis of the interactions” of a couple.
Regardless, numbers this high must have some cause, and some of those causes may be reflected within the poll. Of those questioned, 53 percent of couples engaged in physical intimacy at least weekly. Physical intimacy has been correlated to happiness within the relationship. Furthermore, 66 percent had heated arguments less than monthly, though this is not to be confused with having any arguments at all. But good communication was ranked as important by 95 percent of those polled, meaning that arguments are not the problem. The problem arises when arguments become both emotional and personal.
Contact a Divorce Attorney
Regardless of how your marriage is today, no one can predict how it will be in the future. Even if both spouses want the marriage to succeed, marriages can fail. Divorce is not an easy decision, but once it is made, an experienced divorce attorney in Illinois can help ease you through the process and leave you ready to proceed with your life. If you are considering divorce, contact an experienced family law attorney today.
