Marital problems: an analysis of the causes among 115 clinical couples

Among 115 couples seeking counselling for marital problems from Jan 1, 1987-Dec 31, 1989, 86.1 per cent of the consultations were initiated by the wives. Striking characteristics were as follows: 51.3 per cent of the couples had husbands who were either younger or more than three years older than their wives. A total of 62.6 per cent had dated less than bands with lower educational attainment or educational attainment more than three years higher than their wives. Sixty-two drop six had dated less than 1 year; 46.1 per cent married because of parental suggestions or had unreal expectations about marriage; 40.9 per cent did not get both partners' parents to agree to their marriage; 46.1 per cent had premarital sexual relationships, 26.1 per cent did not register for a marriage license; 26.1 per cent did not hold a wedding celebration. A history of divorce among both partners' first degree relatives was lacking in only 41.7 per cent of the couples. The three most frequent marital problems were extramarital sexual activity, lack of intimacy and not loving the partner. The wives had a marginally significant trend to face the problems arising from their partners' extramarital sexual relationships more often than the husbands. The problem of not loving the partner was found significantly more frequently during the first five years of marriage.