Marital Trends in the American Muslim Community: A Pilot Study

Abstract

In this study, 751 American Muslims completed a survey that investigated their attitudes about marriage, divorce, and marital counseling, considering three primary factors: gender, generational level, and ethnicity. The sample's marriage rate was 44.5% (n = 333); the divorce rate was 21.3%. The study highlighted the strong influence of generational level while downplaying the role of ethnicity and gender. First-generation participants had a higher marriage rate, were more likely to be married within the same generational level and same ethnicity, and had the lowest percentage of marital age gap of less than 5 years. The study also provided a glimpse into the reasons behind marital dissatisfaction, divorce, and not being married, and compared attitudes toward marital and premarital counseling.