A Survey of the Attitudes of the Youth toward Knowing the Future Spouse and Shared Life, Borujen, Iran

The three main stages of life include birth, marriage, and death. Marriages work well only if the couples have enough knowledge about each other. Otherwise, the newly formed family would soon be broken apart. Therefore, this study aimed to survey the attitudes of the youth intending to get married toward a shared life and knowledge about the future spouse. The present cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study was performed on in city 200 individuals who attended pre-marriage counseling centers in Borujen during 2010. A valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire consisted of 3 parts including demographic information, questions about the time and method of getting acquainted, and attitude items. The total score of attitude in the questionnaire was 68 points. Data obtained from these questionnaires was analyzed with SPSS18. The mean scores of attitude were 43.3 ± 5.27 and 41.87 ± 5.42 among men and women, respectively. The minimum and maximum scores in both sexes were 23 and 57, respectively. In addition, significant associations were observed between gender and accepting the future spouse with existing conditions (P = 0.009), being skilled for a shared life (P < 0.001), enough confidence for getting married (P < 0.001), and belief in overcoming future problems (P = 0.009). In other words, women had poorer attitudes toward themselves, their spouses, and their lives in all the above mentioned aspects. In this study, 34% of the participants were getting married with a relative and 25.5% had university-level education. Men and women had a moderate level of attitude toward knowing their future spouse and shared life. Educational courses to provide marriage counseling and life skills for couples would be essential. On the other hand, enough knowledge about the future spouse before marriage is of great importance especially for women.