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The Relationship Between Marital Satisfaction, Family Relation And Psychological Distress
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1.7Literature review
Gender differences in psychological distress
Gender
differences in psychological distress is a topic that has been subject
to a lot of research, with most of them pointing out that women
eventually seem to have a higher levels of psychological distress
compared to men and this ca be accounted for by their greater exposure
and vulnerability to role related stress (Gove 1972).
Epidemiological
research has found consistently that women have a higher rate of
psychological distress than men (Al-Issa 1982; Dohrenwend et.al 1980;
Meyers. 1984). Stress researcher often attribute the differential
distribution and etiology of mental illness to women’s greater emotional
exposure to role-related stress. In addition, studies have documented
the pronounced sex differences in distress among the married (Fox 2004;
Radloff 2006) and the greater emotional costs of parenthood for mothers,
especially those with dependent children qhoaw parental role demands
are the greatest (Aneshensel, frerichs and Clarks 1990). Though mixed,
results generally indicate that employment does not benefit women as
much as men due to the strain of meeting family and woek role
obligations (Cleary and Mechanic 1983; Kessler and McRae 1982). These
finding suggest that women’s psychological distress susceptibility seem
to be higer than that of men.
Stress researchers have also emphasized
the greater vulnerability of women to ongoing family role strain than
men. In a study conducted by Pearlin and Lieberman (1979) found that
marital strains have a greater impact on women that on men. Kessler and
McLeod (1997) showed that women are more affected by network events such
as undesirable events that occur to others .Although some have argued
that women’s vulnerability stems from their inadequate stress-buffering
resources (Belle 2006; Pearlin and Schooler 2003), others have
documented the fact that sex differences are not explained fully by
social support and coping resources (Kessler, Essex, 1987; Thoits 1999).
The
inability to account successfully for gender differences in distress
has led some authors to acknowledge potential differences in the
salience of role domains to males and females (Aneshensel, Pearlin 1987;
Bielby & Bielby 1989). Thus, to the extent that strains in salient
role domain are more threatening to well-being, women’s greater response
to family role strain may reflect the importance they attach to these
roles relative to men.
Marital satisfaction
Marital Satisfaction
Marital
satisfaction was defined as “an individual’s subjective evaluation of
the overall nature of marriage†(Gelles, 1995, p. 232) that reflects the
degree to which an individual’s expectations towards marriage are
reflected in his/her own marriage (Bahr, 1989; Gelles). Researchers who
study marital satisfaction face several difficulties, including the
fluid and subjective nature of the concept of marital satisfaction
itself. According to Popenoe and Whitehead (1999), for many people in
contemporary society marriage is no longer a social structure existing
for the purpose of successful upbringing of children (Smock, 2000). It
is now seen more as an “intimate relationship†(p. 4) in which sexual
intimacy and close friendship of soul-mates are the most valued
dimensions. Recent studies support the importance of these factors. For
example, Meltzer and McNulty (2010) found that sexual frequency and
satisfaction of partners, as well as wife’s perception of her
attractiveness had positive effect on marital satisfaction of both
partners.
As a result of cultural and societal changes, the number of
women working outside of the home as well as their level of
independence has significantly increased in recent decades. These
changes influenced women’s attitudes toward responsibilities associated
with marriage. Popenoe and Whitehead (1999) claimed that many
contemporary women prefer not to get married due to the amount of
housework that would be required of them. Those who do marry, evaluate
their marital satisfaction based on their ability to pursue a career
outside of home and expect to share household responsibilities with
their spouse. In support of this assertion, Helms, Walls, Crouter, and
McHale (2010) found that in marital dyads where both spouses worked, the
level of marital satisfaction and the equality in sharing housework
were closely related.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Marital satisfaction is no longer a given in today’s world, with different factors contributing to the poor marital quality experienced in most marriages. This study attempted to find out if there is any relationship between factors affecting marriages. Participants were chosen via purposive sampling, where married people were the intended target. Marital satisfaction, family relations and psychological distress were carefully examined to see if there is any relationship between them. Als ... Continue reading---
