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Devoted all the life time to marriage: the changes of the marital commitment for females in their marriages
Abstract
The purpose of the study aims at the concepts and the changes of marital commitment in married women’s lives. The study adopts the qualitative analysis along with an in-depth semi-structural interview with four women aged from 39 to 54 years old who have children from their marriages of first time which last more than 15 years.
The study discovers that the concepts of marital commitment of the women who were born in 1930s to 50s have two different aspects. First of all, the concept of morality which is affected by traditional culture and marriage value is the commitments to the role obligation and responsibilities which includes the commitment of cultivation of children, taking caring of her husbands and parents in law. Among the above responsibilities, the role obligation to her children is the most primary strength for a woman to adhere to marriage. Secondly, the other aspect of concept is based on the commitment for the needs of affections, including the love and intimacy between couples, the feel of two in one, and commitment to live together no matter what happens. The research indicates that the primary meaning of the marital commitment for women living with traditional marriage values is though to recognize the role and responsibilities in a marriage, the interaction between husband and wife is also the key expectation to maintain the marital commitment when women feel more affections and intimacy.
As for the contributing factors to marital commitment of the married
women, according to the study, the relationship between husband and wife, their children, relatives including the original-family and the in-law-family, cultural conventions, would cause the change of women’s original marital commitment. The positive events for women to maintain their commitments in marriages including husband’s considerations, supports between the couple and sharing of couple’s feeling and thinking, taking care of children together, and restriction from the wife’s original family would reinforce women to maintain the marital commitment. On the contrary, the negative events which weaken the marital commitment of women are couples’ different viewpoints, husband’s lacking of responsibilities, couples’ inadequate communication and the pressures from the interaction between wives and their mothers in law.
In the changes of the marital commitment of married women, the determination of taking responsibilities in marriage plays the essential role in marriage maintenance and can avoid changes from the impact of events outside marriage. Besides, the development and the quality of intimacy and love between husband and wife are also the important strengths for women to continue their’ marital commitment.
At last, according to the consequences and discoveries from the study, the researcher provides some suggestions for married people, designs of
“marital education courses” and applications for future studies
KeywordNmarital commitment, marital stability, marital maintenance, in-depth interview
