Why Aren’t You Married Yet? Effects of Influences to Marry Early on Personal and Relational Well-Being

The pathway to marriage has changed substantially over the past 20 years or so, with many marrying later or choosing not to marry at all. Yet, many young people report that they do want to marry someday and some marry before the age of 25. There are various influences on the choice to marry or not marry. According to social impact theory, some of these choices may have to do with the immediacy of the source of impact. This study investigates how various influences, from various ranges of immediacy impact important areas of personal and relationship well-being. Results show that pressures to marry early are associated negatively with satisfaction with life and relationship satisfaction, while positively associated with stress and depression. Some results also show the connection of social immediacy impact in that parents’ marrying early positively associates with satisfaction with life, and negatively associates with relationship disillusionment and stress, while siblings marrying early was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, and friends marrying early was positively associated with relationship satisfaction and negatively associated with stress. Religious influences were only positively associated with satisfaction with life. Implications for practitioners and researchers are provided based on study results and theoretical information.