Scientific Studies on the Hardest Periods (Without Citations)
The Transition to Parenthood stands out as the most consistently documented difficult period. A 2022 meta-analysis of 49 empirical studies found that marital satisfaction has a medium decrease between pregnancy and 12 months postpartum, and a small decline between 12 and 24 months postpartum for both genders. Parent couples experienced a significantly steeper drop in satisfaction compared to nonparent couples from the prenatal period through 12 months postpartum.
Families with Young Children and Teenagers face ongoing challenges. Research using structural equation modeling identified "families with young children" and "families with teenagers" as significant negative predictors of marital satisfaction, accounting for part of 85% of the variability in marital outcomes. Studies indicate that when children reach adolescence, conflicts may increase, making this period "one of the critical periods for the marital relationship at midlife."
Early Marriage Years present high risk. Research shows "the earliest years of marriage have the highest probability of divorce, at least after the first year or so. After that, the probability of divorce rises quickly." People who marry in their teens are two to three times more likely to divorce than people who marry in their twenties or later.
Midlife Transitions create relationship stress. Longitudinal studies following couples for 15 years found that "the period in the family life cycle is associated with the lowest point in marital satisfaction" when couples have teenage children during midlife. This period coincides with "each partner probably 40–50 years old, reassessing their lives and redefining its meaning while also dealing with their parents' aging."
Contradictory Findings on Later Life
Interestingly, the Empty Nest period shows mixed results. Some longitudinal studies found that "moving to an empty nest status was associated with significant improvements in women's marital (but not life) satisfaction." Research tracking women over 18 years found that "women who had made the transition to an empty nest were more satisfied with their marriage compared to women who still had children at home."
Key Research Insight
Recent longitudinal research using latent class growth analysis has challenged conventional wisdom, revealing that "67.6% of couples were grouped into classes characterized by insignificant change in marital satisfaction over the entire duration of the study." Couples experiencing significant declines tended to be "couples undergoing stressful life transitions (e.g., new parents) and couples reporting lower satisfaction initially."
The research consistently points to major life transitions; particularly the arrival of children, parenting young children through adolescence, and midlife challenges; as the periods when marriages face the greatest strain.
