“Loss of initial levels of love and affection, rather than conflict, is the most salient predictor of distress and divorce…”

finds Ted Huston, Ph.D., a professor of human ecology and psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, who followed 168 couples from their wedding day through 13 years of marriage, starting in 1981. According to his research, the development of a marriage during its first two years is the most significant predictor of later happy marriage or divorce. The amount of conflict in a couple was little important. However, a strong loss of affectionate and loving feelings during the first two years of a marriage predicted a later divorce very well.

Huston concludes “This ought to change the way we think about the early roots of what goes wrong in marriage. The dominant approach has been to work with couples to resolve conflict, but it should focus on preserving the positive feelings. That’s a very important take-home lesson.”

For more details, consider reading http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200001/will-your-marriage-last.