(Online Dating Industry Journal) As hinted at in their previous media release, eHarmony has just announced the results from The 2005 eHarmony Study of Marriage in America. The study indicates that singles who were matched by eHarmony and later married are significantly happier than couples who met by any other means.
In order to provide an overview of marital quality among both eHarmony couples and non-e Harmony couples in the U.S., eHarmony and Global Market Insite surveyed 2,106 couples. The results show that eHarmony couples scored significantly higher in regard to all four components of relationship quality measured by the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS): consensus, satisfaction, affectional expression and cohesion. According to eHarmony, this new research reinforces the findings of a similar study conducted in 2003 and underscores the vital role broad-based compatibility plays in determining the long-term success of relationships.
"What makes eHarmony marriages so special are their quality, strength and stability," said Dr. Neil Clark Warren, chairman and co-founder of eHarmony. "What this research proves is that people are finding the loves of their lives at eHarmony; these happily married couples are becoming parts of communities everywhere and their children are being born and raised by loving and satisfied parents. All of us at eHarmony feel so fortunate to have such a unique opportunity to make the world a healthier and happier place."
Principal findings, according to eHarmony, from The 2005 eHarmony Study of Marriage in America include the following:
- eHarmony couples have significantly happier and more successful marriages than couples who met in any other ways. eHarmony married couples scored significantly higher than other marrieds on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (average score = 127 versus 113).
- eHarmony couples rate their marriages significantly better than non-eHarmony couples. eHarmony marrieds are notably more likely than other marrieds to indicate that they consider their marriage to be "Extremely Happy" to "Perfect" (77% versus 55%).
- eHarmony couples enjoy spending more time together. eHarmony marrieds are 13% more likely than other marrieds to report that they enjoy spending time together and sharing their interests (80% versus 67%).
- eHarmony couples get along better. eHarmony marrieds are 30% more likely than other marrieds to say that they "rarely" or "never" quarrel (73% versus 43%).
- When it comes to family finances, religious issues, friends, philosophy of life and sexual relations, eHarmony marrieds are 16% more likely than other marrieds on average to indicate that they "Always" or "Almost Always Agree" (84% versus 68%).
- When it comes to dealing with each other's parents, eHarmony marrieds are 20% more likely to "Always" or "Almost Always Agree" (80% versus 60%).
The 2005 eHarmony Study of Marriage in America surveyed 2,106 couples (1,112 eHarmony couples participated in the current survey while 994 comparison married couples were recruited by Global Market Insite). Couples surveyed completed a 420 item online questionnaire that included the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) developed by Dr. Graham Spanier in 1976. The DAS is a 32-item instrument which measures marital relationship quality and has been used in over 2,000 published studies. The DAS is comprised of four subscales: Dyadic Consensus, Dyadic Satisfaction, Affectional Expression and Dyadic Cohesion. Combined scores across scales indicates overall marital adjustment. The overall margin of error for the study is +/-2.0%.
Kim's Comments:
I'm not suprised that eHarmony members that marry often go on to have happy and successful marriages. Those that join such a relationship-oriented service like eHarmony are there because they are ready to make that commitment and, thus, seem to take their matchmaking efforts very seriously. Still, I'm always skeptical of research conducted on behalf of any company.
I would be interested to know a bit more about the sample pool. For instance, how long had the couples been married? Couples introduced through eHarmony couldn't be more than a couple of years into their marriage while the control group may be full of couples married for several years. This could have a strong effect on marriage satisfaction as many "control" couples may be well past the "honeymoon stage".
Also, what were the survey taking scenarios for each group? Were the eHarmony couples approached for the study on behalf of eHarmony? This might also effect how positive they are in their responses due to the fact that they credit eHarmony as their matchmaker and may be more positive because of that. I know that if I met my future husband on eHarmony and they approached me to do a survey I would be more than happy to express my positivity toward my marriage as a thank you to the company.
Still, this is very impressive for eHarmony and I'm sure it (along with their other recent news that an average of 90 marriages happen each day because of eHarmony) will be publicized greatly in their next round of television commercials.
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