Washington,
Apr
23
(ANI):
If
you're
planning
to
make
your
relationship
eternal
by
getting
married,
then
you
should
sit
down
for
a
moment
and
give
the
idea
a
second
thought,
suggests
a
new
study.
Northwestern
University
study
is
based
on
the
question:
Will
the
partner
who
supports
your
hopes
and
aspirations
while
you
are
dating
also
help
you
fulfill
important
responsibilities
and
obligations
that
come
with
marriage?
The
answer
to
that
question
could
make
a
difference
in
how
satisfied
you
are
after
tying
the
knot.
Believing
a
partner
is
there
to
help
you
grow
into
the
person
you
aspire
to
be
predicted
higher
relationship
satisfaction
for
both
dating
and
married
couples,
the
study
showed.
But
the
belief
that
your
partner
helps
you
live
up
to
your
responsibilities
and
uphold
your
commitments
only
predicted
higher
relationship
satisfaction
after
marriage.
For
dating
couples,
the
relationship
itself
tends
to
revolve
around
whether
things
are
moving
forward.
Happiness
with
a
partner
depends
on
whether
the
relationship
will
grow
into
something
more,
whether
a
partner
will
support
the
dreams
the
other
eventually
hopes
to
achieve.
For
married
couples,
the
feeling
that
their
partners
are
helping
them
to
advance
their
relationships
and
realize
their
ideal
achievements
is
still
important.
But
the
relationships
of
married
couples,
now
more
interconnected
both
practically
and
psychologically,
tend
to
revolve
around
upholding
the
commitment
made
to
their
partners.
Unlike
dating
couples,
married
couples
also
put
a
high
premium
on
their
partners'
support
of
whatever
they
determine
to
be
necessary
obligations.
"In
other
words,
the
feelings
of
being
loved
and
supported
that
people
use
to
judge
who
makes
a
good
girlfriend
or
boyfriend
may
not
be
completely
trustworthy
in
deciding
who
makes
a
good
husband
or
wife," said
Daniel
Molden,
assistant
professor
of
psychology
at
Northwestern
and
lead
author
of
the
study.
"Those
feelings
may
only
partially
capture
the
emotions
that
will
determine
your
satisfaction
with
the
person
you
marry," the
expert
added.
The
findings,
Molden
said,
could
be
important
in
explaining
why
so
many
marriages
fall
apart.
The
study,
which
will
be
published
in
the
July
issue
of
Psychological
Science,
included
92
heterosexual
dating
couples
and
77
married
couples.
They
completed
a
battery
of
questionnaires
that
included
an
assessment
of
how
much
they
thought
their
partner
understood
and
supported
both
the
hopes
and
responsibilities
they
had
set
for
themselves.
To
measure
how
different
types
of
perceived
support
were
related
to
happiness
with
the
relationship,
couples
also
completed
well-validated
measures
of
satisfaction,
intimacy
and
trust.
(ANI)