Marriage and Family Life: The EarlyYearsremain sexually active well into their 70s
and 80s,according to the University of
Chicago’s National Social Life,Health and
Aging Project (Lindau et al.,2007).
Myth 5: Cohabitation is just like marriage,
but without the “piece of paper.”
Cohabitationdoesnotseemtoofferthe
samehealthbenefitsasmarriage.Waiteand
Galliger(2001)suggestthisisbecause
cohabitationdoesnothavethesamelevel
of commitmentasmarriage.Therefore,
womendonottakeasstrongastandonthe
healthbehaviorsof theirpartnerasawife
does.Inaddition,cohabitationislesslikely
toproducethefinancialbenefitsafforded
bymarriage.Thiscanalsonegatively
impacthealthbenefits.
Myth 6: Couples who really love each other
will not have conflict
On the contrary,the deeper the
relationship,the greater the likelihood of
conflict.When you disagree with a casual
acquaintance,you can just walk away and
“agree to disagree.”But when married
couples disagree,those disagreements have
a tendency to fester and annoy until they
erupt into full-scale conflict.The more
emotion you allow to cloud your
judgment,the more you will struggle to
get your way.The more couples
communicate,the greater the possibilities
of conflict.Couples who say they do not
have conflict may have communication
problems.The Balswicks explain
“marriage without conflict often signifies
that one partner has given up personhood;
there is agreement,but only at that
partner’s expense”(1999).Models of Marriage
In the early years of marriage,a couple
establishes patterns which impact the rest
of their lives.Many couples begin by
imitating the marriages of their parents.
This can be potentially dangerous,because
the two sets of parents probably reflect
two different marital patterns.Couples
need to differentiate themselves from their
parents and develop their own unique
marriage (Balswick & Balswick,2006).Couples who say they do not have conflict
may have communication problems.©iStockphoto.com/killerb10