Fear of intimacy and (pre-) wedding stress according to innovative relational marital and family therapy

Abstract

Our study examined the connection between pre-wedding stress and fear of intimacy with certain characteristics of the participants in the survey. Among 149 participants (72 males and 77 females) aged between 19 and 39, there was a minimum time to the wedding of 1 month and a maximum time of 9 months. The results of the survey have shown that there is no statistically important correlation between fear of intimacy and experiencing pre-wedding stress. We found that future brides experience more stress compared with grooms.

We also determined that the healthier the functioning of the primary family, the less pre-wedding stress and fear of intimacy is present compared with those individuals that come from less healthy or non-functional families. The results also show that support from the primary families of the engaged couples during the wedding preparations substantially lowers the experience of stress. The acceptance of responsibility for the relationship, one’s own past, sincere conversation and trust, were all found to be key areas for confronting fear of intimacy and pre-wedding stress. Relational marital and family therapy is one effective way to help in the transition from bachelorhood to married state.