LONDON - Brides-to-be should heed their nagging doubts, a new study shows, as nearly one in five women with cold feet before their wedding are divorced four years later.

When people have premarital doubts they think they do not have to worry, but new research reveals newlywed wives who had niggles before taking the plunge were two and a half times more likely to divorce four years later.

Researchers studied 464 newlyweds within the first few months of marriage and conducted follow up surveys every six months for four years - average age at the time of marriage was 27 for husbands and 25 for wives.

When asked if they were ever uncertain or hesitant about getting married at the initial interview, 47 per cent of husbands and 38 per cent of wives said yes.

Although women were less likely than men to have doubts, the University of California Los Angeles researchers found their niggles were more meaningful in predicting trouble after the wedding.

Among women, 19 per cent of those who said they had pre-wedding doubts were divorced four years later, compared to eight per cent who did not have doubts, the Journal of Family Psychology study revealed.

For husbands, 14 per cent who confessed to getting cold feet were divorced four years later, compared to nine per cent who did not report having doubts.

Doctoral candidate Justin Lavner said: "People think everybody has premarital doubts and you don't have to worry about them. We found they are common but not benign.

"Newlywed wives who had doubts about getting married before their wedding were two-and-a-half times more likely to divorce four years later than wives without these doubts.

"Among couples still married after four years, husbands and wives with doubts were significantly less satisfied with their marriage than those without doubts.

"You know yourself, your partner and your relationship better than anybody else does; if you're feeling nervous about it, pay attention to that. It's worth exploring what you're nervous about."

Doubt was a decisive factor in splitting, regardless of how satisfied the spouses were with their relationships when interviewed, whether their parents were divorced, if they lived together before the wedding and how difficult their engagement was.

In 36 per cent of couples, the husband and wife had no doubts about getting married, and of those couples, six per cent got divorced within four years, the Daily Telegraph reported.

When only the husband had doubts, ten per cent of the couples got divorced, but when only the wife had doubts, 18 per cent of couples split, and when both partners had doubts, 20 per cent of the couples got divorced.

Mr Lavner said: "What this tells us, is that when women have doubts before their wedding, these should not be lightly dismissed.

"Do not assume your doubts will just go away or that love is enough to overpower your concerns.

"There's no evidence that problems in a marriage just go away and get better. If anything, problems are more likely to escalate."

Professor Thomas Bradbury said: "If you see something unusual on your skin, should you ignore it and go to the beach, or see a doctor?

"Be smart and don't ignore it - and don't ignore your doubts either.

"Have a conversation and see how it goes. Do you think the doubts will go away when you have a mortgage and two kids? Don't count on that.

"Talk about it and try to work through it. You hope that the big issues have been addressed before the wedding." AGENCIES