KF Etzold, raises an interesting question, with complicated dimensions,
plus a slew of variables difficult to measure. I will list some of them,
noting that the value of each depends on the dependence and interdependence
of each:
Age, Gender, Socio-economic status ( Education, Income, Occupation), Mental
Health, Physical Health ( apart from major disability), Spiritual Sense,
Social Interaction, and Intellectual Curiosity are the main factors. Next
would be: course of the illness, length of marriage, personal emotional
flexibility, support systems, historical expectations of self and spouse,
and the ability to define needs as opposed to wants.
The closer partners agree with these values the stronger the probability of
a stronger marriage. I suspect that about one in three marriages don't make
it, that would be the same as the general population. The aforementioned
variables are those most often brought into focus when research on marriage
is undertaken.
I think other variables are the way individuals deal with "guilt" and the
ability to accept feelings as separate from acts, how dependence and
independence issues are handled, and how realistic are expectations. These
may be regarded as components of the major dimensions or seen separately
from them.
("Once again Science rises to muddy then hopefully clarifies the waters.")
