Long working hours and problems with communication are the main difficulties facing newly-wed couples, according to a report released today by the Catholic marriage support group, Accord.
The report identifies 'time poverty' as one of the main difficulties facing young, recently-married couples in Ireland. Both spouses work long hours and have less time to spend together. As a consequence, their marriages are suffering.
The survey, entitled How was it for you? Learning from couples' experiences of the first years of marriage, was carried out by Dr Anne Ryan of Maynooth University on behalf of Accord. It investigated the experiences of 77 recently-married couples in the Dublin area.
Financial worries, disagreements over in-laws and disputes over housework also create pressure between newly-wed spouses.
The report recommends that couples share responsibility for housework and for earning money and spend more time together and with their children. It also suggests that couples maintain a cushion of savings and try to avoid getting into debt.
The results of the survey were presented along with the group's annual report today. Last year, Accord provided marriage counselling to over 4,000 people in the Dublin area. Almost 3,000 couples also took part in their marriage preparation courses in Dublin.
Communication difficulties, domestic violence, infidelity and alcohol were all important factors in leading couples to seek assistance. Almost a quarter of all Accord’s clients were in their first five years of marriage.
"As in other years, regardless of the length of the relationship, the most common problem was with communication. This can range from virtual silence through sniping and nagging, constant arguments, serious rows to domestic violence.
Alcohol also figures prominently in the lives of a very large number of clients," said Ms Penny Wilson, Accord’s director of marriage counsellng.