A growing trend in the United States today is for engaged couples to take premarital education classes in the hope of building a stronger relationship that won't eventually lead to divorce. Educational sessions, which used to only be required by certain churches, are becoming popular with an increasing number of couples. It's no wonder they are skeptical of marriage, because the divorce rate in the U.S. is at a staggering 50%. While some young people have stopped believing in the institution altogether, others are taking the route of seeking advice from marriage experts before taking the plunge.

Premarital education isn't a lengthy course by any means and won't demand a lot of your time. In fact, most couples go through programs lasting only 8 hours, although other classes might require as much as 20. In return for their effort, studies are showing higher interpersonal commitment and marital satisfaction levels coupled with a decrease in destructive conflicts. The chance of divorce is 31% lower with couples going through the training as opposed to those who do not. These are pretty good numbers for such a small investment of your time.

In the 1950s, only 12% of couples took some type of premarital course. Today the number is around 44%. A lot of the reason for the increased popularity is the trend of thinking that education is important in every aspect of our lives. Although these programs aren't available to everyone who is going to be married, the studies have shown that all ages, races, religions, and social stratas will benefit from being a part of them. To help provide premarital education for more people, a two-hour DVD course has been created.

Premarital education should not be confused with premarital counseling which is completely different. While counseling consists of sessions involving a marriage expert and one couple, education programs are done in groups. Group sessions do not go into depth on the problems of each couple but are made up of more general relationship information. Couples who are wanting to take these programs should plan on doing so between a year and six months before the wedding.

People have gotten wise to the fact that marriage, just like almost everything in life, is something that they need to learn about. They've become wary of the high divorce rate, and they are willing to do what they can to help their marriages survive.