Background and Purpose: Selecting a marriage partner is an influential factor in an individual's mental health and lifestyle. The impacts of marriage on reducing personal and social disorders have been well determined. For a systematic planning and raising awareness among the youth about Quranic and religious criteria for marriage, it is essential to familiarize them with these principles. The present study was conducted to identify single students' perspectives on the criteria for marriage and determine the correspondence of these criteria with Quranic and religious principles at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2013.
Materials and Methods: In this analytical, descriptive study, 360 single female and male subjects were selected via random sampling at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2013. The data collection tools included a questionnaire on demographic characteristics, criteria for marriage and causes of decline in marriage. The criteria for marriage were rated as "very important", "important', "somehow important", "unimportant", and "very unimportant". Causes of decline in marriage were rated as follows: "Completely agree", "agree", "somehow agree", "disagree", and "completely disagree". For data analysis, descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were applied, using SPSS version 20.
Results: In this study, 67.2% of the participants were female (age range: 18-22 years). In total, 70% of the students were in educational semesters 1-4. As the findings indicated, honesty (96.9%), which is a Quranic recommendation to all Muslims, was one of the most significant criteria. The students' perspectives on parental satisfaction, common religion, good behavior, avoidance of sinful acts, and lack of criminal records, which are also emphasized in Islam, had a significant relationship in two genders.
Conclusion: According to the research findings, students' criteria for marriage are based on the dominant culture and religion in the society. Therefore, in order to guarantee students' religious health, a more rigorous plan should be applied to institutionalize marriage and promote students' perspective on this institution.