DIFI reveals preliminary results of its research study on first five years of marriage in Arab world

DIFI previewed the primary findings of its research study on ‘Assessing Marital Relations during the First Five Years of Marriage in the Arab World’, during its participation in the 11th session of the Arab Family Committee.
The study aims to evaluate marital relations in the Arab world, to look into their strengths, and potential points of error, so as to determine possible strategies, policies, and programs to ensure a stable marital life.
The preliminary findings of the survey, which has featured this far 414 participants from 19 Arab countries, summarized the main causes of early disintegration of marital relations, namely: emotional matters, difficulty accepting the partner, differences in previous perceptions of reality, financial problems, work pressures, behavioral matters, among others. Moreover, the preliminary study findings also reflected important indicators about the impressions of marriage, which are summarized as follows:

• 35.57% of the participants considered marriage as “a new and enjoyable life experience”.
• 30.32% saw marriage as a “fairly good” experience, a gray area that is likely to develop into either a good impression or an early disintegration of marriage.
• As for 37.11% of the participants, they mentioned negative impressions about the marital experience.

The 11th session of the Arab Family Committee also saw discussions on the strategies the League of Arab States is devising, in the context of policies relating to family counseling, reducing domestic violence and strengthening household cohesion. In this context, the participants discussed the preliminary findings of the DIFI research study on ‘Assessing Marital Relations during the First Five Years of Marriage in the Arab World’, in cooperation with the Social Affairs Sector of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States.