Who funds these studies???

Good question ..... and where do I apply for funding to start some obscure research?

Hahaha, yeah....that reminds me: at university two friends of mine actually got funding for a 'study' into the best railway network in Europe. So essentially, the university paid for them to go on a trip of 10 countries and all they had to do was rate the service, timeliness, comfort and ease of travel as a tourist on all these trains! Oh how i wish i'd have thought of that!!

These kinds of things are funded by our great President's Stimulus Package. (noting that this is from the UK)

The couples most likely to have a happy marriage...in my opinion...are those who have given the matter of a life-companion some very serious thought, considered their opinions on important issues (children, politics, religion, etc...), have the approval of extended family, and have made the life-commitment to weather the storms of life.

I don't think it has a thing to do with age; that's just silly unless one is very old and wants a younger spouse and/or one is looking for a sugar-daddy. So superficial but explains a lot about the current concepts of marriage.

i just think marriage can't be 'quantified' by a generic study. every partnership/relationship has its own dynamic, none of which can be generalised by 'research' like this.
And surely when they find themselves writing sentences such as

They found that if the wife was five or more years older than her
husband, they were more than three times as likely to divorce than if
they were the same age.

they have to acknowledge how ridiculous this statement sounds!!
Personally, I believe the key to a happy relationship (marriage, friendship, family relations or otherwise) is trust.