Coming from Large Family May Mean Marriage Will Last

 Posted on October 22, 2014 in Divorce

With divorce so common in today’s society, it is no wonder that many look at examples of long-term successful marriages to try to determine what factors played a part in them. Of course, every relationship is different and even rules that generally hold true will have exceptions. In addition, it is safe to say that many factors are usually at play in making a relationship work over the long term. A recent news article suggests that one such factor that may increase a couple’s chance of having a lasting marriage is growing up in a big family.

Large Families May Lead to Enduring Marriages

The article cites examples of two sisters, both of whom married in their late teens, going on to celebrate their 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries. They came from a family of nine siblings total, seven of whom remained married for at least 50 years when only about six percent of couples supposedly do. This statistic, coupled with the high rate of long marriages that exist in the family mentioned above, are prompting many to ask why people who come from big families seemingly have a better chance of enjoying a long marriage.

Providing Useful Marriage Skills

One sociologist says that a larger portion of older adults come from big families, as they were born in a time period when having bigger families was common. It has been previously established from research that having a higher number of siblings can lead to having a lower chance of getting divorced. One reason this could be true is that growing up in larger families teaches family members to share and deal with different personalities, something that proves useful later in life when couples are addressing marital issues. One study reportedly established that for each additional sibling one has up to seven, the likelihood of divorce decreases by two percent, despite variations in socioeconomic and other factors.

Another benefit that growing up in a large family may provide is socialization. One study showed that children with brothers or sisters could more easily adapt to other kids in school and learn to play together. The idea is that when children fight with their siblings, they find ways to resolve the conflict, which helps in addressing the same types of conflicts they may have with peers. This same skill proves useful later in their marriages as well.

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