1. Myth: Men benefit more from marriages than women.
Fact: Both genders benefit equally from marriage, although in different ways. Both men and women live longer, happier, healthier and wealthier lives when they are married. Husbands typically gain greater health benefits, while wives gain greater financial advantages.
2. Myth: Having children typically brings a married couple closer together and increases marital happiness.
Fact:A great deal of research has shown that the arrival of the first baby often has the effect of pushing the parents farther apart, bringing stress to the marriage. However, couples with children have a slightly lower rate of divorce than childless couples.
3. Myth: The keys to long-term marital success are good luck and romantic love.
Fact: The most common reasons for long-term marital success are compromise, commitment and companionship. The happiest couples are friends who share lives and are compatible in interests and values.
4. Myth: The more educated a woman becomes, the lower are her chances of getting married.
Fact: Today's women University graduates are more likely to marry than their non-college peers, despite being older when they first get married. This is a change from the past, when women with more education were less likely to marry.
5. Myth: Couples who live together before marriage have more satisfying and longer-lasting marriages than couples who do not.
Fact: Many studies have found that those who live together before marriage have less satisfying marriages and a considerably higher chance of eventually breaking up.
A major reason is that people who cohabit may not be that into commitment and more likely to call it quits when problems arise. Also, the very act of living together may lead to attitudes that make happy marriages more difficult. The findings of one recent study, for example, suggest "there may be less motivation for cohabiting partners to develop their conflict resolution and support skills."
(One important exception: Cohabiting couples who are already planning to marry each other in the near future have just as good a chance at staying together as couples who don't live together before marriage).
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