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from the lies-damn-lies-and-statistics dept.
Randy Olson, a Computer Science grad student who works with data visualizations, writes about seven of the biggest factors that predict what makes for a long term stable marriage in America. Olson took the results of a study that polled thousands of recently married and divorced Americans and and asked them dozens of questions about their marriage (PDF): How long they were dating, how long they were engaged, etc. After running this data through a multivariate model, the authors were able to calculate the factors that best predicted whether a marriage would end in divorce. "What struck me about this study is that it basically laid out what makes for a stable marriage in the US," writes Olson. Here are some of the biggest factors:
How long you were dating (Couples who dated 1-2 years before their engagement were 20% less likely to end up divorced than couples who dated less than a year before getting engaged. Couples who dated 3 years or more are 39% less likely to get divorced.); How much money you make (The more money you and your partner make, the less likely you are to ultimately file for divorce. Couples who earn $125K per year are 51% less likely to divorce than couples making 0 - 25k); How often you go to church (Couples who never go to church are 2x more likely to divorce than regular churchgoers.); Your attitude toward your partner (Men are 1.5x more likely to end up divorced when they care more about their partner’s looks, and women are 1.6x more likely to end up divorced when they care more about their partner’s wealth.); How many people attended the wedding ("Crazy enough, your wedding ceremony has a huge impact on the long-term stability of your marriage. Perhaps the biggest factor is how many people attend your wedding: Couples who elope are 12.5x more likely to end up divorced than couples who get married at a wedding with 200+ people."); How much you spent on the wedding (The more you spend on your wedding, the more likely you’ll end up divorced.); Whether you had a honeymoon (Couples who had a honeymoon are 41% less likely to divorce than those who had no honeymoon).
Of course correlation is not causation. For example, expensive weddings may simply attract the kind of immature and narcissistic people who are less likely to sustain a successful marriage and such people might end up getting divorced even if they married cheaply. But "the particularly scary part here is that the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is well over $30,000," says Olson, "which doesn’t bode well for the future of American marriages."
(Score: 1) by rheaghen on Tuesday October 14 2014, @09:30PM
Hello Randal S. Olson, of the typical-narrow-minded-christian-clan! last I checked, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc. all do not use the term "Church", and I'm not even sure that generalization would even fit their theistic traditions/practices. I'd have been much clearer to have a category like Theist/Atheist/Undecided. The man-in-the-sky is a bit more diverse in the grand scheme of things, but that means you'd actually have to include these other criteria into your narrow research project. Also, I'll wager you didn't have many openly atheist couples out there, and I'm not even gonna ask about gay marriage? So please, with a cherry on top, stop publishing bad research; you're making everyone who believes in it more stupid.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday October 15 2014, @02:40PM
typical-narrow-minded-christian-clan! last I checked, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc. all do not use the term "Church"
It's easier to say "church" than it is to say "church/mosque/synagogue/temple." You know what he means.
I'd have been much clearer to have a category like Theist/Atheist/Undecided
"Do you go to church and if so, how often?" relates pretty directly to that distinction anyway. If you don't belong to a faith, why would you be going to communal worship? (As deference to a SO, maybe.)
Also, I'll wager you didn't have many openly atheist couples out there
I'd take that bet. If SN is any indication, you're bound to run into at least one couple (who are of course vocal about it). How many in the sample we're talking about...I'm not exactly sure what point you're trying to make. You ask for volunteers online then complain when the data comes back and you don't like the results? In some contexts you'd have a point but I don't see this as being one.
Everybody has biases. I'd be interested to compare and contrast the questions you'd give with the ones the person in question did. I'm sure they'd be informative.
Thanks so much for lodging the Butthurt Brigade's stance on this issue. Saved us the trouble of calling you up and asking for a quote (the guy who answers is always bitchy).
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"