Are you Ready? Creative Assignment

1. Are you Ready?Creative Assignment Isabelle Erekson Marriage & Family

2. Are You Ready? According to BYU researchers Jeffry Larson, Thomas Holman, and Robert Stahmann the higher you score on these questions the better off your relationship will be in the long run.

3. Are you ready? Traits that predict marital dissatisfaction: •Difficulty coping with stress •Dysfunctional beliefs, such as "People cannot change." •Excessive: ◦Impulsiveness ◦Anger and hostility ◦Depression ◦Irritability ◦Anxiety ◦Self-consciousness Traits that predict marital satisfaction: •Extroversion •Flexibility •Good self-esteem •Good interpersonal skills (such as assertiveness) Continued…

4. Are you ready? Dissatisfaction: Satisfaction: •Dissimilarity on important values, such as religion or roles in marriage •Short acquaintanceship •Premarital sex •Premarital pregnancy •Living together •Poor communication skills •Poor conflict-resolution skills and style •Similarity of values •Long acquaintanceship •Good communication skills •Good conflict-resolutions skills and style Continued…

5. Are you ready? •Older age •Healthy family-of-origin experiences •Happy parental marriage •Parental and friends’ approval of the relationship •Significant education and career preparation Dissatisfaction: Satisfaction: •Young age (under 20) •Unhealthy family-of-origin experiences, such as •Parental divorce or chronic marital conflict •Parental or friends’ disapproval of the relationship •Pressure from others or yourself to marry •Little education and career preparation

6. Resources • www.utahmarriage.org • Important factors to consider before taking the marriage plunge. • Forever Families.