Directions

Please conduct a short, nonscientific survey of your friends who are married. After collecting your information, please compare and contrast the couples you interviewed. This is a very effective way to understand the concept, even if you are married yourself. You may see a vast difference in the responses of older couples vs. younger couples. If possible try to interview couples who represent different racial-ethnic groups. Did you find a cultural difference?

After you have interviewed 2-3 couples, compile your information into an essay. You do not need to include all of the specific interview answers, just make general observations such as: “Of the 3 couples I interviewed 2 were recently married and 1 had been married over 10 years. Of the newlywed couples only 1 had lived together prior to marriage and they had not told their parents about their living arrangements. This couple had gone to elaborate lengths to cover up or conceal this information. They were concerned about the reaction of their parents and didn’t want to upset them. This couple told me they had been together for 5 years prior to their marriage and keeping the information secret was sometimes difficult during the holidays and added some stress to their relationship.”

Your paper should be roughly13-14 paragraphs. Including an introductory paragraph, a paragraph reporting the responses to each question (that’s 12 paragraphs right there!), and a concluding paragraph. The average length of this paper is 7-8 pages double spaced.

Married Couples Survey Questions

General information to be gathered for each couple while you are interviewing them:

Sex of the person you are interviewing (male or female) and the age of the person you are interviewing.

1. How long were you dating your spouse before you got engaged, before you were married? How old were you both when you married each other? Is this your 1^st marriage?

1. How long have you been married and how did you meet?

1. Did your parents approve of your dating relationship with this person before you got married?

1. Do your parents get along with your spouse?

1. Do you have children or do you both want children? Did you agree on a specific number of children?

1. Do you get along with your in-laws, if not, explain?

1. Did you live together before you got married, if so how long?

1. Was love the primary reason that you got married, is it (or was it) enough?

1. What things do you have in common with your spouse? What are the biggest differences between you?

1. If you could go back in time would you marry this same person again?

1. What advice would you give someone getting married in the near future?