How Well-Adjusted Is Your Marriage? Short Test
The following quiz is based on the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. A measurement that has been extensively tested for accuracy and validity.
This quiz is accredited to John Gottman in “The Marriage Clinic”
Disclaimer: taking this quiz and/or sharing the results with your partner may result in conflict with your partner. In the case of marital conflict please find a well-trained marriage therapist.
On the following continuum, how do you feel about your marriage: (circle a number)
0 2 7 15 20 25 35
Very Unhappy Happy Perfectly Happy
_____________ place # here
How often do you and your partner disagree on the following issues.
Mark 0 if you always disagree
Mark 1 if you almost always disagree
Mark 2 if you frequently disagree
Mark 3 if you occasionally disagree
Mark 4 if you almost always agree
Mark 5 if you always agree
____________________________________________
A) Money _____________ place # here
B) Play/How to spend Free Time _____________ place # here
C) Friends _____________ place # here
D) Proper public behavior _____________ place # here
E) Beliefs about life _____________ place # here
F) In-Laws _____________ place # here
__________________________________________________________
G) How you show affection _____________ place # here
- 8 Always Agree
- 6 Almost Always Agree
- 4 Occasionally Disagree
- 2 Frequently Disagree
- 1 Almost Always Disagree
- 0 Always Disagree
H) Sex (Circle One) _____________ place # here
- 15 Always Agree
- 12 Almost Always Agree
- 9 Occasionally Disagree
- 4 Frequently Disagree
- 1 Almost Always Disagree
- 0 Always Disagree
I) Disagreements usually end with _____________ place # here
- 0 Husband giving in
- 2 Wife giving in
- 10 Agreement through compromise
J) Do you and your partner spend your free _____________ place # here
time together?
- 10 All of it
- 8 some of it
- 3 very few of it
- 0 none of it
K) During free time you generally prefer
- To be on the go
- To stay at home
L) During free time your partner generally prefers _____________ place # here
- To be on the go
- To stay at home
(for K & L award : 10 for both stay at home / 3 for both on the go / 2 for a disagreement)
M) Do you ever wish you did not marry _____________ place # here
- 0 frequently
- 3 occasionally
- 8 rarely
- 15 never
N) If you could do it over again; you would _____________ place # here
- 15 marry the same person
- 0 marry a different person
- 1 not marry at all
O) Do you ever confide in your partner? _____________ place # here
- 0 almost never
- 2 rarely
- 10 in most things
- 10 in everything
______________Total
This quiz, similar to an IQ test, has a mean of 100, and a standard deviation of 15.
85 indicates a marriage that is considered to be in trouble
100 Indicates a marriage that is at the average level of satisfaction
115 indicates a very healthy marriage.
130 and higher indicates an exceptionally happy marriage.
Note: Couples within the first 5 years of marriage usually score 15-20 points higher than couples married longer than 5 years.
If you wish your marriage was more satisfying to you, be encouraged that there is a substantial amount of research that has taught us what makes a marriage fail or succeed. Find a therapist who specializes, or has experience in treating couples.