What Factors Predict Marital Success Amongst Americans? The Impacts of Age, Race, and Premarital Children

Abstract

Marital success questionnaires were administered to people. Through convenience sampling I recruited forty married participants and requested that they fill-out a marriage questionnaire form. The purpose of this research project is to examine different underlying risk factors that influence the success or failure in marriage. For the purposes of this research, marital success was determined by the number of years of marriage. Risk factors examined in this research include age, race, and the presence of premarital children. Findings indicate that (a) those who marry between the ages of twenty-six and twenty-nine have the highest number of years of marriage; (b) Caucasians have higher number of years of marriage; and (c) individuals without 'premarital children have more years of marriage. It appears that age, race, and the presence of premarital children are all underlying risk factors in the success or failure in marriage.