Evening star., 1937-08-01
MENTALITY TESTS
URGED FOR LOVERS
Psychiatry Can Cut Divorce
so Per Cent, Doctor
Suggests.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, July 3l.-Persons con-
templating matrimony might do we'll,
for their future happiness, to consult
psychiatrist, DR.. Robert N. McMurry,
executive secretary of the Chicago
branch Of the Psychological Corp,
said today.
His comment was provoked by the
recent passage by the Illinois Legis-
1ature OF law which requires that
couples undergo physical examinations
to show they are free from social
diseases before they can be licensed
10 marry
Without committing himself as to
the relative Importance of physical
and mental examinations, DR.. Nc
Murry said that extreme as it may
seem" he felt that mental examina-
tions might save great deal OF
misery and heartache, which occurs
out Of the ill-advised choice OF a
life partner.
Sees Divorces Reduced.
although it is an extreme sug-
gestion, I would risk the assertion, j"
he said, that the number of divorces
could be cut in half if all persons con-
templatlng matrlmony were required
to undergo a thorough examination
by competent psychiatrist."
At the same time, DR.. McMurry
,aid, he did not believe the Euro
pean marriage of convenience" was a
bad thing as compared with the
American types where love (emotion
unleavened by much common sense)
Is the deciding factor"
Although the parents of European
couples may not have as subtle insghts
into the underlying psychological
mechanicisms which are active in such
cases. they at least can be more OBJ
tectlve about their children's choices
than the young people themselves.
About as Satisfactory.
After all, the proof lies in the fact
that, in general, these marriages of
convenience seem to work out in the
end about as satisfactorily, if not
more so, than do the American types
where love is the motivating factor
Tor those who are matrlmonially bent.
In advocating mental examinations
TO determine if couples are suited to
one another DR. McMurry emphasized
that it was important that such tests
be made by pSychiatrists with psyche
analytic training, adding that such
an examiner should be able to form
snme judgments as to the underlying
source Of the appeal couples have for
one another and decide whether or
not they are pathological."
There are he said, "a very large
number of mild as we'll as severe un-
recognized cases of mental sickness
at large. AS most psychiatrLsts will
agree, far from all of the persons
who should be under trea tment or
committed to institutions, have been
detected. In consequence, when such
mentally Ill persons enter matrimony
their sickness may be productive of
very violent marital conflicts In this
connection, contrary to the public S
naive beliefs, all sufferers from men-
tai disorders are not violent, nor are
they immediately recogniza BILE even to
trained physicians.
Violence PrObab
Probably one of the most dan
Eerous types of mental disorders. par
anola. is likely to show few, if any
preliminary symptoms before the final
outbreak, which may be of such vio-
lence that it will result in death OF
injury to persons whom the paranoid
has included in his system of delu-
slons Of persecution.
Likewise, there is no sharp line OF
differentiation between the mentally
Ill and the mentally sound, any more
than there is between the physically
III and the physically sound. Thus,
there are a large number Of border
line cases which are not commlttable
but whose peculiarities make them
very difficult to get along with and
cause them to be very poor matri-