It is said that people cannot achieve true happiness unless they are married, but if that's the case, then marriage may be be more of a gamble than a key to happiness for those who head down that road. The idea that marriage produces happiness is not all true, and it's this sort of naïve, one-track thinking that leads to the unfortunate reality that about half of all American marriages end in divorce.

According to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri, "the divorce rate in America for a first marriage vs. a second or third marriage is that 50 percent of first marriages, 67 percent of second marriages and 74 percent of third marriages end in divorce."

More often than not, people rush into marriage for erroneous reasons. We have all heard of the clichéd stories of young people getting married as the result of a pregnancy, but the list does not stop there. Many times, people get married simply because they think they should.

The notion that marriage is inevitable has permeated American culture for years. While the age of marriage is not as low as it was 50 years ago, numerous young adults are still getting married under the assumption that it will make them truly happy. Sure, for people who are really in love and feel confident that marriage is really the way to take their happiness up to another level, it's the right choice. Divorce rates, however, should serve as an indicator that marriage is not the fairytale land it appears to be.

Television and movies propel the notion that marriage provides the quintessential storybook ending; people who get married will live happily ever after. The biggest mistake some people make, however, is to assume that a marriage will solve existing problems in a relationship.

I cannot count the number of times I have randomly flipped-on The Dr. Phil Show to see a couple, whose marriage is obviously in trouble, claim that they expected everything to get better once they were married. People need to realize that marriage does not serve as a solution to the core problems in a relationship. In fact, when the euphoric effects of a wedding wear off, these problems are often aggrandized, as couples are legally bonded together and unable to simply "break up."

Millions of people take wedding vows and say they'll be with each other "in sickness and in health, until death do us part, as long as we both shall live." Once a couple is married, they often feel compelled to stay married, despite any problems (abuse, infidelity, incompatibility, etc.), as if the choice to get married in the first place serves as an unbreakable contract. This leads to anger and resentment, and these are not particularly happy qualities.

As hackneyed as it sounds, happiness comes from a personal choice that starts within and is not legitimized by a legal document. If people are unable to be satisfied with themselves and unable to discover what makes them happy as individuals, then it's doubtful a marriage will ever fix that.

On a personal note, I have recently seen several long-standing marriages crumble around me. The cause is fairly simple; people change and no longer fit together. Ten years from now, nobody will be the same person they are today. As people grow and adapt to the various events in their lives, those changes will only add stress to a marriage. Loving couples who are truly dedicated to each other, and not those couples that think they should get married because it will make them happy, will be able to sustain their marriages.

Another main reason people get married is to have sex, and that's an extremely unstable basis for a marriage. Sex is a natural, innate human desire and a core part of most people's lives and marriages. It is important that people ensure they are sexually compatible with their future husbands or wives, and couples can make these decisions within the parameters of their own religious and moral values. You know what they say — practice makes perfect.

People need to practice being married to ensure they are truly compatible and ready to be linked for life. For some it may take a month to know, others a year or more. Only after they get over the lovey-dovey dating stage will they know if they are getting married for the right reasons. The "right" reason for marriage is a subjective issue to be determined by couples, but what matters is that they sit down and discuss those reasons without worrying about a marriage certificate, that for too many people, ends up being the wrong way to go.

Reach columnist Chris Heide at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.