An Activities Handbook for Strengthening Long Distance Relationships is now available. Here is a comment by Alan Hawkins, Director of Family Studies at BYU, that sums up the concern expressed in several responses. They would probably divorce. Since we often live our expectations, these expectations probably undermine marriage. I corresponed with the author of the study.
People remain optimists about first marriages lasting.
Let's not let poor journalism make people think otherwise, especially when we know a lot about how to make that happen. While today's young people aren't heading down the aisle to take their marriage vows in the numbers they once did nationwide, those surveyed locally believe in the benefits of the institution. Based on an unscientific survey of area girls ranging from age 12 to 18, a majority believe that married people are happier than those who stay single or simply live together, believe in staying married to the same person for a lifetime and acknowledge that a good marriage and family life is important to the well-being of both partners and any children resulting from the union. According to information provided by the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the marriage rate has generally declined since the early 1980s. This figure is less than 1 percent higher than the 2,336,000 marriages or 8.9 per 1,000 population recorded in 1995.