A recent study done by Brigham Young University seems to suggest that, all moral bias aside, waiting till your wedding night might strengthen your relationship. An analysis of questions answered by married couples in 1992—keyed on "When did you become sexual in this relationship?"—finds that couples who abstain from sex before marriage are 22 percent more likely to have a stable relationship, 20 percent more likely to be satisfied with their relationship, 15 percent happier with their sex life and have better communication skills.
“Regardless of religiosity, waiting helps the relationship form better communication processes, and these help improve long-term stability and relationship satisfaction,” said BYU family life professor and lead researcher Dean Busby says, He suggests that couples who had sex before they were married take a step back to reevaluate their relationship and be sure it's not based on sex alone.
The study will be published in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Family Psychology. It relies on data gathered over two years from 2,035 married individuals.
“Couples who hit the honeymoon too early [...] often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make relationships stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy,” commented University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus, who reviewed the study.
So is there something to this theory that people who have premarital sex are less trustworthy? Or is it just that our perception is skewed by someone else's moral agenda? The world may never know.
“Regardless of religiosity, waiting helps the relationship form better communication processes, and these help improve long-term stability and relationship satisfaction,” said BYU family life professor and lead researcher Dean Busby says, He suggests that couples who had sex before they were married take a step back to reevaluate their relationship and be sure it's not based on sex alone.
The study will be published in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Family Psychology. It relies on data gathered over two years from 2,035 married individuals.
“Couples who hit the honeymoon too early [...] often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make relationships stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy,” commented University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus, who reviewed the study.
So is there something to this theory that people who have premarital sex are less trustworthy? Or is it just that our perception is skewed by someone else's moral agenda? The world may never know.
Don't just to conclusions. Correlation is not the same as causation.
I agree with the previous commenter. There might be plenty of other factors. Also why marriage is some kind of stumbling block? Some can hasten to marry to finally have that "legitimized" sex and thus leave the relationship underdeveloped as well. I agree that you should be careful if you want a stable relationship, but it's not only about waiting until marriage, I think.
it is ultimately up to two individuals really. there are so many things to consider and not just having good sex. to me personally, when in the relationship, you get to ignore the absence or presence of sex and yet still be contented being with that same person over and over again is a basis of a good relationship. am not saying PMS is good or bad, am just saying it's a personal choice and whatever consequences arise from one's actions is the sole responsibility of that person. therefore i conclude, we shouldn't be making choices based on some study but instead we choose what we feel is right and if it turns out to be wrong, deal with it and move on.
i am comforted by the thought that my mistakes teach me the most important things in life. so.... whatever...
I think the study sheds light on some valid points. I don't think that it necessarily depends on if you are intimate before or after marriage. What I think it is, is making sure that your emotional maturity of the relationship lines up with your physical maturity. If two people are doing the do like rabbits right off the bat and not focusing enough on the emotional aspect of the relationship and how well they go together besides the sex, I think it can be detrimental. But as long as you are keeping the scales even on how mature the physical and emotional is, I don't think sex before marriage is a bad thing at all. It's important to know that you are sexually compatible. And sexual intimacy is important. I like the ideas that the study brought up though.
=* I always thought it was more of a "if you don't know what you are missing, you won't miss it.," deal. Since I was active before marriage I just can not keep a relationship going that has crappy sex. To me virgin marriage would be a gamble, just imagening getting stuck with some of the crappy partners I've had gives me nightmares. Yes learning to communicate to improve sex would help stablize a relationship, buuuuut this is one thing where I think a bit of natural tallent is a must. -_-
here's an example: one of my buddies decided to play cho choo train with my breasts....... that was the end of that relationship. I could never look her in the face again with out the image of her saying cho choooo.