Marriage Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Social changes in the contemporary era have directly influenced human life and existence, especially the meaning of marriage. In light of these contemporary developments, researchers have emphasized the urgent need to deconstruct marriage... more

Social changes in the contemporary era have directly influenced human life and existence, especially the meaning of marriage. In light of these contemporary developments, researchers have emphasized the urgent need to deconstruct marriage and re-constitute it, fundamentally altering its traditional characteristics and meaning in the process. Conversely, the Orthodox Church views the essence of marriage with an interminable consistency and continuity characterized by the mysterion of love in Christ. Is it viable to live the meaning of this mysterion in today’s postmodern era? To examine this issue, this study initiates an interdisciplinary dialogue between postmodern perspectives on marriage and family on the one hand, and the vision of Orthodox theology on the other. This new and unexplored dialogue endeavors to contribute to the positive engagement of the Orthodox Church with the postmodern world.

In this paper, as a final year student at the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria, in fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Divinity Theology qualification, I aim to explore the history of Sexuality... more

In this paper, as a final year student at the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria, in fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Divinity Theology qualification, I aim to explore the history of Sexuality and Marriage as well as the concerns surrounding sexual and marital constructs as sociological issues, which 21st century Theology is often faced with: whether the Biblical ethics regarding premarital sexuality in its relation to marriage are still relevant for the 21st century...

This was a research paper for a course entitled Feminist and Multicultural Theologies. I unpack what gender complementarianism is, examine its history, and compare it to how Scripture and earlier Christian Tradition understood gender.... more

This was a research paper for a course entitled Feminist and Multicultural Theologies. I unpack what gender complementarianism is, examine its history, and compare it to how Scripture and earlier Christian Tradition understood gender. This allows me to establish that gender complementarianism is a recent innovation in secular and Christian thinking about gender, and that it can be described as a "trajectory" from Scripture and Tradition on gender, influenced by social, ideological, and intellectual developments in secular societies. I then pursue a critique of gender complementarianism, arguing that it is an "unsatisfactory trajectory" because it has troubling implications for orthodox theology, is not borne out by empirical experience and observation, and has harmful effects on human beings and societies and on ethical development.

As pornography use becomes more commonplace in the United States, and increasingly so among younger cohorts, a growing literature is considering its potential connection to key social and cultural institutions. The current study examines... more

As pornography use becomes more commonplace in the United States, and increasingly so among younger cohorts, a growing literature is considering its potential connection to key social and cultural institutions. The current study examines the relationship between pornography use and one such institution—marriage. We draw on three-wave longitudinal data from 2006-2014 General Social Survey panel studies to determine whether married Americans' pornography use predicts their likelihood of divorce over time and under what social conditions. We employ a doubly robust strategy that combines entropy balancing with logistic regression models. We find that the probability of divorce roughly doubles for married Americans who begin pornography use between survey waves (N = 2,125; Odds Ratio = 2.20), and that this relationship holds for both women and men. Conversely, discontinuing pornography use between survey waves is associated with a lower probability of divorce, but only for women. Additional analyses also show that the association between beginning pornography use and the probability of divorce is particularly strong among younger Americans, those who are less religious, and those who report greater initial marital happiness. We conclude by discussing data limitations, considering potential intervening mechanisms and the possibility of reverse-causation, and outlining implications for future research.

This article explores the age difference of marrying and divorcing couples, calculated by subtracting the wife's age from the husband's. Age difference is of interest in the study of families and partnership behaviour. It is also... more

This article explores the age difference of marrying and divorcing couples, calculated by subtracting the wife's age from the husband's. Age difference is of interest in the study of families and partnership behaviour. It is also important because of its link with broader socio-demographic changes, such as population ageing, delayed fertility and the provision of care. The main finding is that between 1963 and 2005, the distribution of age differences for all marriages is very similar in each year to the distribution of age differences for the subset of couples who married in that year, but have since divorced. While there is some evidence of small variations in the proportion of marriages that end in divorce by age difference, there does not seem to be evidence of a strong association.

2016年度 秋田公立美術大学紀要 実践報告 p61-p67

This study prospectively assessed the implications of war captivity and former prisoners of war's (ex-POWs) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD trajectory on their wives' marital adjustment, adjusting for their secondary... more

This study prospectively assessed the implications of war captivity and former prisoners of war's (ex-POWs) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD trajectory on their wives' marital adjustment, adjusting for their secondary traumatization (ST). Results show that marital adjustment of the wives of ex-POWs with PTSD (N = 66) was lower compared to wives of ex-POWs (N = 37) and combat veterans (N = 55) without PTSD symptoms. Investigating the possible mechanism underlying the lower marital adjustment, via a mediating model, indicated that husbands' PTSD symptoms mediated the association between captivity and the wives' marital adjustment. Moreover, husbands' PTSD trajectories assessed over 17 years were implicated in their wives' marital adjustment; wives of ex-POWs with chronic PTSD reported lower marital adjustment compared to wives of resilient ex-POWs. The substantial novelty was revealed in prospective deterioration found in dyadic adjustment among wi...

For many married individuals, the ups and downs of daily life are connected such that stressors impacting one person also impact the other person. For example, stress experienced by one individual may "spill over" to negatively... more

For many married individuals, the ups and downs of daily life are connected such that stressors impacting one person also impact the other person. For example, stress experienced by one individual may "spill over" to negatively impact marital functioning. This study used both partners' daily diary data to examine same-day and cross-day links between stress and marital conflict and tested several factors that make couples vulnerable to spillover. Assessment of 25 wide-ranging sources of daily stress included both paid and unpaid work, health issues, financial concerns, and having to make difficult decisions. Results showed that both husbands' and wives' experiences of total daily stress were associated with greater same-day marital conflict and that conflict was greater on days both spouses experienced high levels of stress. Evidence of cross-day spillover was found only in those couples with high concurrent marital aggression and in couples where wives reported...

In this paper, with linear regressions to investigate how relationships dissolution affects sexual attitudes and behaviors, the authors address the stereotype that newly single people seek multiple sexual partners. Although the newly... more

In this paper, with linear regressions to investigate how relationships dissolution affects sexual attitudes and behaviors, the authors address the stereotype that newly single people seek multiple sexual partners. Although the newly single people surveyed did obtain new sexual partners, the rate at which they acquired new partners did not support the stereotype. Specifically, men with custody of their children seemed oriented towards finding a steady partner. Additionally, men and women with low incomes reported relatively high rates of partner acquisition after relationship dissolution. The high rates reported by disadvantaged groups may be more directly related to familial stability accompanying poverty than to cultural characteristics associated with income or race. We argue that a life stage model with categorical stages in a rigid, anachronistic progression provides insufficient means to gain an understanding of newly single people.

The current investigation expands the focus of cognitive behavioral formulations of marriage by exploring the constructs of autonomy and relatedness in marriage. One hundred forty-one married couples matched to the 1990 U.S. census data... more

The current investigation expands the focus of cognitive behavioral formulations of marriage by exploring the constructs of autonomy and relatedness in marriage. One hundred forty-one married couples matched to the 1990 U.S. census data on age, race, and income completed a number of self-report marital inventories including the Autonomy and Relatedness Inventory (Schaefer, Edgerton, & Burnett, 1991). Autonomy was measured by evaluating spouses' perceptions of the extent to which partners encouraged a sense of independence and individuality for the spouses. Relatedness was measured by evaluating spouses' perceptions of the amount of closeness that partners provided. It was found that autonomy and relatedness were significantly positively correlated with each other, as well as with marital adjustment for both males and females. It was found that for females, the provision of relatedness (as reported by their husbands) was significantly related to the standards that they held for the relationship. In addition, it was found that for females, the provision of relatedness (as reported by their husbands) was significantly related to the standards that husbands held for the relationship. However, no significant relationships were found between husbands' standards and relatedness (either as reported by wives or by husbands). It was concluded that it is appropriate to help couples think of autonomy and relatedness as being two important aspects of marriage that can exist together and are related to a satisfying marriage. Implications of the findings suggest that marital therapists could expand the conceptualization of marital therapy beyond being primarily relationship focused to include attention to individual needs of the spouses.

A 14-item Sexual Coercion Inventory (SCI) was administered to an urban university sample in Western India. Twenty-six percent of the sample reported a total of 160 incidents of sexual coercion ranging in severity from unwanted kissing to... more

A 14-item Sexual Coercion Inventory (SCI) was administered to an urban university sample in Western India. Twenty-six percent of the sample reported a total of 160 incidents of sexual coercion ranging in severity from unwanted kissing to sexual intercourse. The most common outcome was intercourse and was followed by kissing and fondling. No gender differences were discovered regarding victim status or types of coercion tactics experienced. A MANOVA analysis found no overall gender effect, but marital status and protected class membership did have a significant effect with people who are married and protected class members reporting more sexual coercion. Reasons for the lack of an overall gender effect and limitations of this research are discussed.

This article defends the thesis that, in light of the postulates of liberal ethics, it is not possible to put forward universal arguments in support of any form of marriage. The existing forms of marriage should be either deemed unjust or... more

This article defends the thesis that, in light of the postulates of liberal ethics, it is not possible to put forward universal arguments in support of any form of marriage. The existing forms of marriage should be either deemed unjust or founded on specific arguments recognized within a particular political community and determining the understanding of justice in a particular society. It defends the thesis that the requirement of universality, and consequently of impartiality, is not met, since behind every form of marriage there is a certain " minimum " anthropological approach. Marriage is discussed as a privilege granted to particular groups by the political community. The comments are made with reference to the discussion between Krzysztof Saja and Tomasz Sieczkowski concerning the problem of discrimination against same-sex couples in Polish legislation.

Guided by a family resiliency model grounded in systems theory and social constructionism, we conducted in-depth interviews to explore how 18 Arab American couples living in New York and New Jersey perceived and dealt with the terrorist... more

Guided by a family resiliency model grounded in systems theory and social constructionism, we conducted in-depth interviews to explore how 18 Arab American couples living in New York and New Jersey perceived and dealt with the terrorist attacks and aftereffects of September 11, 2001. Results are organized around five themes: Making sense of the attacks; the social environment after September 11, 2001; construction of identity: Arab and/or American; how couples cope: reactions and resources; and immigration and acculturation. Clinical recommendations include helping couples to uncover and to explore conflicts in both Arab and American identities, using genograms to deal with family-of-origin histories, recognizing specific couple dynamics linked to traditional gender roles, helping couples connect to religious and cultural communities, and assessing acculturation.

Much of the domestic violence and abuse literature contains reports of quantitative research approaches that quantify the experience, identify those at risk, and recommend interventions. Although important, these approaches often fail to... more

Much of the domestic violence and abuse literature contains reports of quantitative research approaches that quantify the experience, identify those at risk, and recommend interventions. Although important, these approaches often fail to describe the experience and understanding from the perspective of and in the language used by women who have experienced abuse. This article reports a phenomenographic study of six women's understanding of their experiences of domestic violence during their childbearing years, the time period associated with pregnancy and the first twelve months after birth. The women described domestic violence as being experienced as a loss of self, being controlled and destruction. This report presents the women's views of domestic violence as a complex and damaging phenomenon that is experienced by them in a number of qualitatively different ways.

The recent scandals over clerical pedophilia have raised anew ancient church battles over the propriety of clerical celibacy. Using a sensational sixteenth-century case as a laboratory, this Article analyzes the traditional Roman Catholic... more

The recent scandals over clerical pedophilia have raised anew ancient church battles over the propriety of clerical celibacy. Using a sensational sixteenth-century case as a laboratory, this Article analyzes the traditional Roman Catholic arguments in favor of clerical celibacy and the attacks on those arguments by the sixteenth-century Protestant reformers. It then draws from this historical battle several modern lessons about clerics, children, and sexual crimes.