RESEARCH CENTRE: Want your marriage to last? Avoid tying the knot in your teens

The worst thing that you could possibly do, relationship-wise, is to marry your childhood sweetheart. This is according to the findings of a new study conducted by the Office of National Statistics in the UK, which shows that couples who marry young are more likely to split than couples who marry when they are in their 30s.

For the study, the ONS looked into marriage and divorce rate patterns around the world from the 1970s to date. They found that the marriage rates among teens have dropped significantly since the 70s, which means that people are now waiting to get married. The average age for men to get married for instance has risen from 23.7 in 1970 to 33.5 three years ago, while that one of women has risen from 21.8 years to 31.3.

The survey found that those couples that got married before their 20th birthday were found to be up to 53 per cent likely to split by their 30th marriage anniversary. Of those who married when they were aged between 30 and 34 on the other hand, only one in four had divorced by the time they got to the same anniversary.

WHY?

Explaining these findings, the researchers write, “age at marriage is considered to be closely linked to the risk of divorce, with those marrying in their teens and early twenties being at the greatest risk for divorce.”

Of couples who marry very young, the researchers observe that romance can be overtaken by reality, resulting in a split. They also observed that most couples start off with common goals but when they are faced with the realities of parenting, paying mortgages, career and marriage, it is easy to grow apart.

ers write, “age at marriage is considered to be closely linked to the risk of divorce, with those marrying in their teens and early twenties being at the greatest risk for divorce.”

Of couples who marry very young, the researchers observe that romance can be overtaken by reality, resulting in a split. They also observed that most couples start off with common goals but when they are faced with the realities of parenting, paying mortgages, career and marriage, it is easy to grow apart.

The researchers also found that fewer adults are choosing to get married today compared to the 70s, something that they attribute to the fact that there are more divorces which are highly publicised and could be a put off. Also, they observe that more couples today are choosing to simply cohabit, making marriage a less popular option today. Cohabiting parents, according to these findings, make up one in every five sets of parents you come across today.