{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/10128"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/10128","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Successful Teenage Marriages: A Qualitative Study of How Some Couples Have Made It Work","abstract":"Teenage marriage is a topic that has received limited attention from researchers. In 1990 nearly one out every five first time brides in the United States was under the age of 20. Although it is commonly accepted that these marriages are likely to end in divorce, there is little scientific evidence to validate that. The focus of most studies has been on negative outcomes of these marriages however little concrete evidence has been found to condemn all teen marriages as doomed. This study is a qualitative look at how six couples that married as teenagers have created successful and long lasting unions. Six white couples from the Eastern U.S. participated in 60 to 90 minute long interviews. Using a qualitative method and a phenomenological perspective this study describes the processes these couples believe are most important to their success. The couples provided their personal experiences as well as their unique perspectives on the ingredients necessary for marital success. Five major themes emerged from the couples' interviews including commitment, communication, shared values, spirituality, intimacy, and family. These five themes are common within the literature on strong marriages. In addition to these themes, the role of couple individuality and the process of growing together are discussed.","abstract_html":"Teenage marriage is a topic that has received limited attention from researchers. In 1990 nearly one out every five first time brides in the United States was under the age of 20. Although it is commonly accepted that these marriages are likely to end in divorce, there is little scientific evidence to validate that. The focus of most studies has been on negative outcomes of these marriages however little concrete evidence has been found to condemn all teen marriages as doomed. This study is a qualitative look at how six couples that married as teenagers have created successful and long lasting unions. Six white couples from the Eastern U.S. participated in 60 to 90 minute long interviews. Using a qualitative method and a phenomenological perspective this study describes the processes these couples believe are most important to their success. The couples provided their personal experiences as well as their unique perspectives on the ingredients necessary for marital success. Five major themes emerged from the couples' interviews including commitment, communication, shared values, spirituality, intimacy, and family. These five themes are common within the literature on strong marriages. In addition to these themes, the role of couple individuality and the process of growing together are discussed.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Boykin, Esther Laree"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Marriage and Family Therapy","degree_department":"Marriage and Family Therapy","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Stith, Sandra M."],"committee_members":["Rosen, Karen H.","McCollum, Eric E.","Huebner, Angela J."],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-09-14","date_published":"2004-09-14","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:57Z","subjects":["marital quality","couples","adolescent couples","teenagers","marriage","qualitative research","young marriage"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-09212004-011204"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-09212004-011204","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/10128","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Stith, Sandra M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Rosen, Karen H.","McCollum, Eric E.","Huebner, Angela J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Marriage and Family Therapy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Boykin, Esther Laree"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2011-08-06T16:06:41Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-08-06T16:06:41Z","2004-10-05"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2004-09-14"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Marriage and Family Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["marital quality","couples","adolescent couples","teenagers","marriage","qualitative research","young marriage"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-09212004-011204"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/10128"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Teenage marriage is a topic that has received limited attention from researchers. In 1990 nearly one out every five first time brides in the United States was under the age of 20. Although it is commonly accepted that these marriages are likely to end in divorce, there is little scientific evidence to validate that. The focus of most studies has been on negative outcomes of these marriages however little concrete evidence has been found to condemn all teen marriages as doomed. This study is a qualitative look at how six couples that married as teenagers have created successful and long lasting unions. Six white couples from the Eastern U.S. participated in 60 to 90 minute long interviews. Using a qualitative method and a phenomenological perspective this study describes the processes these couples believe are most important to their success. The couples provided their personal experiences as well as their unique perspectives on the ingredients necessary for marital success. Five major themes emerged from the couples' interviews including commitment, communication, shared values, spirituality, intimacy, and family. These five themes are common within the literature on strong marriages. In addition to these themes, the role of couple individuality and the process of growing together are discussed."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Successful Teenage Marriages: A Qualitative Study of How Some Couples Have Made It Work"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Stith, Sandra M."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Rosen, Karen H.","McCollum, Eric E.","Huebner, Angela J."],"dc:contributor.department":["Marriage and Family Therapy"],"dc:creator":["Boykin, Esther Laree"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2011-08-06T16:06:41Z"],"dc:date.available":["2011-08-06T16:06:41Z","2004-10-05"],"dc:date.issued":["2004-09-14"],"dc:description.abstract":["Teenage marriage is a topic that has received limited attention from researchers. In 1990 nearly one out every five first time brides in the United States was under the age of 20. Although it is commonly accepted that these marriages are likely to end in divorce, there is little scientific evidence to validate that. The focus of most studies has been on negative outcomes of these marriages however little concrete evidence has been found to condemn all teen marriages as doomed. This study is a qualitative look at how six couples that married as teenagers have created successful and long lasting unions. Six white couples from the Eastern U.S. participated in 60 to 90 minute long interviews. Using a qualitative method and a phenomenological perspective this study describes the processes these couples believe are most important to their success. The couples provided their personal experiences as well as their unique perspectives on the ingredients necessary for marital success. Five major themes emerged from the couples' interviews including commitment, communication, shared values, spirituality, intimacy, and family. These five themes are common within the literature on strong marriages. In addition to these themes, the role of couple individuality and the process of growing together are discussed."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-09212004-011204"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/10128"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["marital quality","couples","adolescent couples","teenagers","marriage","qualitative research","young marriage"],"dc:title":["Successful Teenage Marriages: A Qualitative Study of How Some Couples Have Made It Work"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Marriage and Family Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:57Z"}