Marital Maladjustments *

A discussion of marital maladjustment cannot be even partially comprehensible without a review of some of the elementary principles underlying marriage. It is my purpose to outline some of the factors which make for a successful adaptation, leaving the obvious conclusion that marriages are frequently a failure by virtue of ignorance or disregard of such principles. As a matter of fact our knowledge of the subject is very incomplete and is, as yet, based largely on unproven theories. Physicians, because of the confidences given them by their patients as well as through their intimate knowledge of family situations, are in a position to contribute to our understanding of this complex subject. However, before this can be done in a truly scientific manner more information must be collected, carefully sifted, and analyzed. No more valuable piece of work than this can be imagined, for it is a self-evident fact that the solution of these problems would contribute to the health, happiness and efficiency of our civilization. The problems of marriage are largely psychiatric in nature since they lie primarily in the field of human emotions, a province the understanding and treatment of which psychiatrists lay claim to. If scientific work is to be accomplished along these lines it is important that one or more psychiatric clinics be established for the study and treatment of marital difficulties. These clinics should function in two ways, first and primarily along preventive lines, and secondly for the treatment of such difficulties among people who are already married. Young people who have decided to marry should be advised to consult such a clinic where their personalities would be carefully analyzed. Here their attitude in regard to marriage and adjustments in general would be investigated and corrected, and the would-be participants given a short course of re-education, particularly suited to their own needs relative to marital relationships. In this way, by establishing mutual understanding on a basis of knowledge, many future difficulties would be obviated. It is probably too Utopian to hope to see the day when every marriage license has printed upon it the address of the nearest