All information taken from: The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationships in a Changing Society By Bryan Strong and Theodore F. Cohen 2014

1. Most cultures throughout the world consider monogamy – the practice of having only one husband or wife – the preferred form of marriage. False: In Western cultures such as the US, the only legal form of marriage is monogamy – having one spouse at a time. The preferred marital arrangement worldwide is polygamy – specifically polygyny – the practice of having two or more wives. One study of non-Western societies found that 84% of the cultures studied practiced or accepted polygyny. More than 40% of marriages in those cultures were polygamous. The practice of polyandry – the practice of having two or more husbands is rare but where it does occur, it often coexists with poverty, a scarcity of land/property and an imbalance of men to women.

2. Within upper-class families, husbands and wives are relatively equal in their household roles and authority. False – In upper-class families, we tend to find sharply sex- segregated marriages in which women are subordinated to their husbands. Upper-class women often function as supports for their husbands’ successful economic and political activities. These wives may have their own careers, but more often volunteer in their community. Middle class marriages tend to be ideologically more equal and are often two career marriages. Many middle class marriages require dual incomes. Marriage is least common and least stable among lower classes. Fathers are more likely to be absent from family life.

3. Americans have always chosen their spouses on the basis of romantic love. False – Throughout the 18 th century, marriage was guided by more practical guidelines and subject to parental control. By the end of the 19 th century, most parental influence in their child’s choice for a marriage partner had ended. Economic developments had decreased the dependency of adult children on their parents, allowing children to make their own choices.

4. Partners in cohabitating relationships are more likely to be sexually unfaithful than are married couples. True – Cohabitation is widespread in the US. In contrast to married men and women, cohabitants have sex more often, are more equal in initiating sex but are also more likely to be involved in sexual activities outside of their relationship. Cohabitation may occur more often during the “honeymoon” phase, therefore more sex naturally occurs. Extra-relational sex may occur due to fidelity being weaker in a cohabitational relationship. Also, men and women who cohabitate tend to conform less to conventional norms.

5. The gender gap in who is cheating on their partner is narrowing. True – Much research says that more men engage in sex outside the relationship. However, if you include acts including sex and other behaviors, women acknowledge as much infidelity as men.

6. Heterosexual, gay and lesbian couples are similar in the amount of conflict they experience in their relationships. True – Conflict itself is not dangerous to intimate relationships – it is the manner in which conflict is handled. Conflict is natural. All types of coupled life introduce multiple and frequent occasions for conflict. Strategies that couples use to deal with the conflict are what makes or breaks the relationship.

7. Among married couples, money related conflicts are the most likely to remain unresolved. True – Money conflicts are likely to be more contentious and are the most likely conflict area to continue without resolution. They also predict divorce more effectively than other conflict areas – compared to conflicts regarding household chores, sex, time together and parents. Couples often fight over money because of power – usually given to men because they are often the higher paid. Being a full time homemaker often does not get the same recognition as working outside the home because no “wages” are earned. Often an imbalance of power in relationship.

8. Married people report great happiness and better health than unmarried people, but only if their marriages are happy. True – Research shows those who remain in an unhappy marriage have lower levels of happiness, life satisfaction, self esteem and overall health. Negative spousal interactions can impair immune response, slow wound healing, heighten susceptibility to infections and increase cardiovascular reactivity – all which compromise physical health long term. Although divorce causes major stress, in the long run it may actually improve health factors.

9. Couples who live together (cohabitate) before marriage are less likely to divorce. False – Pre-marital cohabitation is associated with an elevated risk of later divorce (cohabitation effect). This can vary depending on expectations and intentions going into the cohabitation. For example, couples who cohabitate with the intention to marry may not have the same elevated risk as a couple who “drifts” into marriage just because they were living together. Cohabitation has drastically increased over the past 40 years across all socioeconomic, age and racial groups. Marriages that cohabitated beforehand are more likely to have: more negative marital communication, lower satisfaction levels of marriage, lower levels of male commitment to spouse, gradual erosion of the value of marriage and child rearing.

10.The US divorce rate is at an all-time high and continues to climb. False – The 2008 divorce rate was 5 times the rate of the early 20 th century. It was 60% higher than the rates in the 1960’s. Rates in the US are higher than anywhere else in the world. However, if you look at divorce rates over the past 30 years in the US, the divorce rate has dropped, returning to levels not seen since the early 1970’s. In recent years, the divorce rate per 1,000 people has hovered around 3.4 – 3.6 divorces per 1,000 – a rate lower than we have seen since the early 1970’s.