The Role of Marriage Expectations in Predicting Desire for Marriage in Girl Students Experiencing Relationship with the Opposite Sex

The present study aimed to investigate the role of marriage expectations on the desire for marriage in female students experiencing relationships with the opposite sex. The research method was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population consisted of all female students experiencing relationships with the opposite sex in the Payam Noor University of Qom in the academic year 2019-2020. 147 people selected as a sample by convenience sampling method. To collect data, the marriage desire questionnaire (Heydari et al., 2004) and marriage expectation scale (Jones and Nelson, 1996) were used. Data analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise multivariate regression tests by SPSS-25 software. The results showed that realistic and idealistic expectations have a positive relationship with the desire for marriage and pessimistic expectations have a negative relationship with the desire for marriage. The results of the regression revealed that realistic and pessimistic expectations had the potential to predict the desire for marriage (p<0/01). It is suggested that education be provided to female students about marriage expectations in order to increase their desire for marriage.