Early Years of Marriage Study: Tracking Project

Collaborators: Kira Birditt (PI), Toni C. Antonucci, Terri Orbuch

Funding: Office for the Vice President of Research, University of Michigan

Project Period: 06/07/2013- 06/30/2014

Description: Although long term marriages are on the rise and the population of the U.S. is increasingly ethnically diverse, we know little about long term marriages and divorce among different racial groups. This study will provide unprecedented and detailed information regarding the developmental trajectories of long-term marriages, the mechanisms that link marriage and well-being, and why some marriages succeed while others fail, particularly among ethnically diverse couples. This study is extremely important for public health as it can inform current policies such as the Healthy Marriage Initiative by revealing characteristics and predictors of healthy marriages and healthy adjustment to divorce.