Understanding Premarital Predictors of Relationship Satisfaction

Premarital experiences can influence how marital relationships develop over time. Despite the increased prevalence of childrearing occurring outside the context of marriage, there is a paucity of research examining premarital experiences for couples who have children before marriage. Accordingly, the current study used a sub-sample of mixed-gendered couples (n = 162) from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing study (FFCW) to assess whether premarital parenting stress was associated with newlywed’s relationship satisfaction. An actor-partner interdependence model was conducted to address these aims. The current study found fathers’ parenting stress had a stronger association to their later relationship satisfaction compared to mothers, whose premarital parenting stress was unrelated to their later relationship satisfaction. Moreover, no crossover effects were found. Findings suggest that providing parenting support prior to marriage could be a key resource for fathers.