The Change Of A Formal Business Agreement Between Two...

Over the past century, there have been many changes in the way society views marriage. What was once a formal business agreement between two families, is now a symbol of romantic involvement or social achievement. While these changes have been beneficial for the most part, some very important aspects of marriage have been lost in the process; leaving society with a fragile version of the strong union marriage should be. As a result, divorce has become a common and generally accepted ending to matrimony, but the negative effects divorce can bring on people and their children remains a point of concern. Judith Wallerstein followed the same children for 25 years, documenting their life after the divorce of their parents, and while she†¦show more content†¦in Cherlin 856). This type of marriage is centered on romanticism and affection, and while this sort of intimacy an important part of marital life, it may not be enough to insure relationship success. A study conducted b y W. Bradford Wilcox and Jeffery Dew tested this theory by studying the relationship stability and satisfaction of married couples to see whether marriages based on the soulmate principle were as successful as couples founded on the institutional views of marriage. Their results showed that the most successful couples were those who had characteristics of both categories (Wilcox and Dew 697). This marriage structure is often referred to as a â€Å"companionate† marriage. Companionate marriages are founded on love but sustained by fundamental beliefs on what marriage is as an institution. One aspect of this format is relationship effort. Professors at Brigham Young University examined the effect effort has on marriages and other union types. They found that effort has a positive correlation with relationship stability in all union types (Shafer, Jensen, and Larson 17). While this seems like a basic idea, many people, particularly in the soulmate category, have neglected this idea and settle for a relationship based on â€Å"conditional love† (Wilcox and Dew 690). This type of love only last as long as each party is satisfied with the relationship and typically lacks a sense of commitment and