Development and initial validation of Tes SELARAS: a culturally-grounded premarital assessment tool in Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Despite Indonesia's consistently high marriage rate over the past five decades, the rising trend in divorce suggests that marriage rate stability does not equate to marital quality. Prior research indicates that strong societal pressure, rather than readiness or compatibility, drives many Indonesians into marriage. However, few interventions directly address this misalignment, particularly during the critical premarital phase. This study focuses on the initial stage of intervention by developing Tes SELARAS, a culturally grounded premarital assessment tool for premarital couples. METHODS: The study comprises three phases. The first phase involves focus group discussions with various stakeholders (scholars, marriage counsellors, and married couples) to identify key themes, relevant dimensions, and item constructions related to marital expectations and indicators of marital satisfaction. The second phase consists of content validation of the proposed items and dimensions by three experts. The third phase examines the tool's psychometric properties to demonstrate validity and reliability. RESULTS: Findings indicate that Tes SELARAS demonstrates preliminary evidence of construct validity and reliability in assessing marital expectations among Indonesian premarital couples. CONCLUSION: These results represent a significant step toward the development of culturally sensitive premarital interventions within Indonesia's marital landscape. The findings also contribute to the global discourse on marital preparation by highlighting the importance of culturally grounded assessment tools in contexts where marriage remains socially normative yet increasingly challenged by rising divorce trends.