The influence of religiosity in adolescence on several variables that have been shown to be predictors of marital quality and stability was examined using a nationally representative sample of 3,151 youth, aged 13 to 17 years, from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Religiosity was defined to incorporate multiple characteristics including religious beliefs, attitudes, participation, experiences, and identities. The effect of religious affiliation and religiosity was also examined for seven premarital predictors, which included relationship with parents, ideal age for marriage, right and wrong, academic achievement, sexual behavior, attitude toward cohabitation, and attitude toward divorce. Data were collected through telephone interviews using a random-digit-dial method between 2002 and 2003. Youth were categorized into eight religious groups: Conservative Protestant, Mainline Protestant, Black Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Other Christian, and Not Religious. Research questions were analyzed using ANCOVA, OLS regression, and logistic regression. Results indicated that all three research hypotheses were supported by the data. Specifically, religious affiliation significantly predicted level of religiosity, religiosity was related to each of the seven premarital predictors of marital quality and stability, and religious affiliation acted as a moderator in the relationships between religiosity and the seven premarital predictors. Comparison of the eight religious groups revealed that religiosity has a unique influence on youth in the different groups in relation to these outcome variables. In light of these findings, implications, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the most important premarital couple protective and risk factors associated with marital relationship quality and stability by utilizing meta-analytic procedures to calculate standardized effect sizes for each factor. Extant research was identified and evaluated using the following inclusionary criteria: the dependent variables had to measure some form of marital quality or stability, the independent variables had to be premarital in nature, the participants had to have married after 1969, and the statistics necessary for the computation of a zero-order correlation effect size had to be available. Meta-analytic procedures were then utilized to code studies meeting inclusionary criteria, aggregate conceptually-comparable variables across included studies, and calculate standardized zero-order correlational effect sizes for each aggregated premarital factor. The predictive magnitude of premarital couple factors associated with subsequent marital outcomes was generally moderate. The results indicated both medium and small effect sizes for the various identified premarital couple predictors of marital relationship quality and instability. Positive premarital factors were generally associated with positive marital outcomes and negative premarital factors were generally associated with negative outcomes. The strongest significant protective and risk factors for marital distress and dissolution were as follows. The protective factors against marital distress included premarital relationship quality (e.g., love, satisfaction, support), premarital relationship stability (e.g., commitment, stability), attitude and value similarity (e.g., autonomy, lifestyle, expectations), positive premarital interactions (e.g., assertiveness, empathy, self-disclosure), religiosity similarity (e.g., religion importance, beliefs, denominational affiliation), and family-of-origin experience similarity factors (e.g., attachment, parent-child relationship, parents' marriage, physical violence). The protective factors against marital dissolution included premarital relationship stability, religiosity similarity, premarital relationship quality, and positive interactions. The risk factors for marital distress included negative premarital interactions (e.g., conflict, criticism, demand-withdraw) and premarital violence (e.g., physical aggression, sexual coercion, violence). The risk factors for marital dissolution included negative interactions and premarital cohabitation with one's spouse. No significant gender differences were identified for any of the premarital predictive factors. Study limitations, implications for future research, and recommendations for educators and clinicians are discussed.