MARRIAGE HOROSCOPE

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 October 1933, Page 3

MARRIAGE HOROSCOPE

CAN SCIENCE FORETELL?

Can the success of a marriage be foretold? Dr. Leonard S. Cottrell, jun., of the University of Chicago thinks it can. He believes that matrimoma prediction will some day be developed into an exact science— he has, in tact, made a.. start in that direction. He thinks that pairs in love in the future will be able to calculate tairly ac curately their chances in the marriage lottery. T 1 , v Prolessor Cottrell, with Dr. L. W. Burgess, also of the University oi Chicago, has prepared, on the basic of a study of 526 married couples, a "marriage-index chart, ’ which is now being checked for its reliability as a means of predicting success or failuie in marriage for prospective brides and bridegrooms. The* investigators have based their “marriage horoscope on an analysis of cultural backgrounds and of personalities of the 52G couples, as well as their family relationships. These are plotted against the degree of happiness the subjects of the inquiry have attained. The results represented studies during the last two and a-half years of couples mat tied from two to six years. , The questionnaire on which the linuings are based divides the subject into five classes, the marriage period, the husband, his parents, the wife, and her parents. Some of the questions are: —■ . . Do husband and wife engage in outside interests together? State approximate extent ot agreement and disagreement on family finance, religion, table manners, ways ot dealing with in-laws. Have you ever contemplated separation? ■

Each person was. asked to appraise his or her marriage under the classification of very happy, happy, average, unhappy and very unhappy. Inn group tested range in age from 20 to 35 years. The factors were rated according to their importance, and on these as basis a chart was prepared giving', in percentages, the chances ot a marriage turning out as very happy, very unhappy or just in between these classifications. In all, Dr. Cottrell outlined 40 factors that enter, in relative degrees, into the making of a happy or an unhappy married life. If the husband’s mother is dead, the chart shows, according to Dr. Cottrell, that the chances for ultimate success are overwhelmingly in favour of a life of harmony. The chances are still quite good for happiness if the bride s father is not living. If both parents are dead, the chances for happiness are greater. If the father advises against a marriage and the mother is in favoui of it, by all means take the advice of •father. His advice is much better than the mother’s. In fact, it seems to be the safe course to disregard the advice of the mother for or against, and to do the opposite of what she counsels. Father’s prediction as to the advisability of a marriage generally turned' out right in the cases tested. Marriages sanctioned by him turned out well. * Those that he objected to generally turned out as failures. When a wife has outside interests, her marriage is likely to turn out more successful than that of the wife who clings to the old maxim that the place of the woman is in the home. Up to a certain point, interests in religion and church affairs increase the chances for successful marriage, as do affiliations with clubs and other social organisations.

HARMONY FACTORS. Husbands and wives who love their parents, the chart shows, are likely to love each other. Those whose relations with their parents were not harmonious find it more difficult to make adjustments among themselves. If both parents of the wile are living and happily married', it improves the outlook for the daughter’s happiness, as is true also in the case of the husband’s parents. It is when the mother of either husband or wife is a.widow that trouble develops.

If the wife has brothers and sisters, the chances for happiness are decreased by about 20 per cent. Similarly, relatives on the husband’s side tend to cause a lower' degree of marital happiness. Comparisons in various groups indicated that the extent of happiness is increased in proportion to the amount of education of the two parties; the higher they stand in the cultural scale, the wider their margin of safety from domestic discord. The survey further showed that a longer courtship is in favour of better marital adjustments. Where the courtship is of less than a year, there is 20 per cent, less chance for happiness. The best period seems to be between three and five years. Over five years is again unfavourable. Those who marry after three months or less also take a 30 per cent, greater risk on happiness. If the husband is deeply attached to his mother, that is, if he has the “Oedipus complex,” he is likely to become deeply devoted to his wife, provided he transfers, his affection from his mother to his wife.

The chances of an only child, boy or .girl, for marital happiness are reduced by about 20 per cent. College graduates have 20 per cent, .greater chance for success in marriage than mere grammar 'school graduates. Young persons bred' in the city have greater difficulty in making marital adjustments than those brought up in a rural environment.

It js on these findings that the “marriage index” was charted. By applying the chart to prospective brides and bridegrooms, it may become possible, Drs. Cottrell and Burgess hope, to predict with accuracy the course a marriage is likely to run. Many young couples have already had “their fortunes told,” Dr. Cottrell revealed. However, he added, the results have not yet been sufficient for official announcement. Similar statistics are now being compiled from the more than 6000 questionnaires returned' from all parts of the country to determine the effects on marriage of personal habits and behaviour of husband and wife.