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Abstract

It was hypothesized that among never-marrieds the prospect of marriage evokes strong anxieties concerning the success and stability of marriage. Furthermore, these anxieties are primarily caused by and are specific to marriage anticipation and do not merely reflect anxiety-prone or emotionally insecure personalities. Further hypothesized as secondary causes of premarital anxieties were interaction style, orientations towards relationships and past relationship experiences. These hypotheses were tested with questionnaire data from 364 never-married, college undergraduates regarding their anxieties about the institution of marriage. Factor analysis and scale validity tests verified the existence of a marriage-anxiety syndrome composed of three substructures: security, fulfilment and excitement. Security and excitement anxieties were interpreted as reflecting serious doubts about being able to have both security and excitement in the same relationship. Fulfilment anxieties were interpreted as being due to realistic expectations, modern marriage needs or romanticism. However, very little support was found for linking premarital anxieties with interaction style, relationship orientations or past experiences.

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Premarital Anxieties

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