An Exploration of the Relationship Between Family of Origin Belonging, Family Peace, and Marital Instability

This paper presents an examination of how migration affects the marital stability of migrant workers, whether there is gender difference in migrant workers’ marital instability, and whether there is gender difference in the determinants of migrant workers’ marital stability. Poisson regression analysis of survey data related to Guangzhou rural–urban migrant workers showed that there is gender difference in marital instability, and that female migrant workers have a higher level of marital instability than male migrant workers. Migrating unaccompanied, inter-provincial migration, distance between the hometown of spouse from husband’s family’s location, and non-traditional gender views were found to be positively related to migrant workers’ marital instability. Some of these influences are mediated by marital satisfaction. In addition, the influence on marital instability of migrating unaccompanied, and distance between the hometown of spouse and husband’s family’s location were identified as more important for female migrant workers, while the influence of inter-provincial migration on marital instability is more important for male migrant workers. It was determined that there are gender differences in the influence of wife's income and gender views: the wife’s income relates positively to male migrant workers’ marital stability, but negatively to female migrant workers’ marital stability. The results show that migration has a stronger influence on female migrant workers’ perceptions of marital instability.

Background and Aim: Marital stability is considered a core index of continuity and durability of mutual independence, trust and friendship, and it is considered a predictor of marital happiness, and is influenced by many individual and interpersonal factors. Therefore, the aim of this research was to develop a structural model for predicting the instability of married life based on attachment styles and coping styles: the mediating role of resilience in conflicted couples. Methods: The descriptive research method was correlation type. The statistical population included couples who were referred to police counselling centres in Tehran in 2019, and 300 people were selected as a statistical sample using the available (voluntary) sampling method. The members of the statistical sample responded to Edwards et al.'s marital stability instability scale (1987), coping styles questionnaire by Lazarus and Folkman (1985) and Connor and Davidson resilience questionnaire (2003). Results: The findings showed that coping styles directly predict the instability of marital life in conflicted couples, and resilience had a significant mediating role in the relationship between emotion-oriented and problem-oriented coping styles and marital instability. In addition, the results showed resilience had a significant mediating role in the relationship between secure attachment style, insecure-avoidant attachment style and marital instability (P < 0.01). However, resilience did not have a significant mediating role in the relationship between bisexual attachment style and marital instability (P > 0.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that teaching effective coping styles, paying attention to resilience and identifying attachment styles of couples can prevent injuries that threaten the stability of married life.

Aim: The present study aimed to predict marital instability based on marital justice and coping styles with the mediating role of work-family conflict in conflicting couples of the Law Enforcement Force. Methods: The research method was descriptive-correlational, and its statistical population consisted of couples who visited law enforcement force counseling centers in Tehran in 2019, and 300 individuals were selected as a statistical sample using the convenience sampling method (voluntary) and they responded to the marital instability scale by Edwards et al. (1987), the Marital Justice Scale by Ghaffari et al. (2013), the Ways of Coping questionnaire by Lazarus and Folkman (1985), and the Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire by Lezent Mirez, Berleg, and Mucmarian (1996). Pearson correlation coefficient and path analysis were used in SPSS to analyze data. Results: The results of path analysis indicated that coping styles and marital justice directly predicted marital instability in conflicting couples, and work-family conflict played a significant mediating role in the relationship between problem-oriented coping style and marital instability and the relationship between emotion-oriented coping style and marital instability (P=0.01). Furthermore, the work-family conflict played a significant mediating role in the relationship between marital justice and instability (P=0.01). Conclusion: Given the roles of coping styles, marital justice, and work-family conflict in predicting marital instability, it can be concluded that teaching effective coping styles, paying attention to role conflict (work-family conflict), and teaching the division of responsibilities between couples can prevent injuries that threaten the marital stability.

What determines marital instability is an important area of research for demography, sociology and economics, with a host of public policy implications. This paper improves our understanding of the issue through the use of rich longitudinal data and the application of advanced research approaches for one of the first times anywhere, and certainly uniquely for Australian data. The combination of method and recent Australian data represents a significant advance in this research area. Using data from waves 1–7 of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, 2,482 married couples—where both partners are respondents in the first wave—are traced over 6 years to identify factors associated with marital separation. The data are analysed dyadically; that is, the characteristics of both partners in each couple are considered in tandem. This allows assessment of whether marriages between partners with similar characteristics (homogamy) are more likely to last than are marriages between dissimilar partners, or whether particular characteristics of wives or husbands—independent of their partners’—are more strongly associated with marital stability. A Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying covariates is used to assess the association of characteristics with marital separation. Our most important contribution relates to the role of homogamy in marital stability or instability and in the context of spousal differences we find the following factors associated with higher risk of marital separation: age, education, preference for a child, and drinking and smoking behaviour. As well, there is a clear positive association between separation and: dissatisfaction with the relationship; husband’s unemployment and perceived financial stress; early age at marriage; separation of parents; second-plus marriage; resident children born before marriage; and low household income. The last of these findings should matter directly for public policy formulation.

Guided by family stress theory, this study compares newlywed samples of remarried couples from rural and urban areas. More than 900 men and 1,000 women in remarriages responded to questionnaires that assessed their economic pressures, family characteristics, and relationship quality. On socioeconomic characteristics, rural and urban couples differed. Urban couples were more educated, had smaller households, and had higher incomes. However, both samples reported high levels of satisfaction and low levels of relationship instability. Regression analyses identified gender differences in the economic predictors of relationship quality. For wives, both marital satisfaction and marital instability were predicted by financial concerns. For men, relationship outcomes were related to the ability to make ends meet. Material needs (having enough money to afford necessities) also predicted marital satisfaction for women, but not marital instability. Implications for family life education are provided. Family scholars have observed that couples experience diverse challenges based on different stages and types of marriage. For example, newlywed couples generally experience greater dyadic adjustment difficulties than do more-established marriages (Carrere, Buehlman, Gottman, Coan, & Ruckstuhl, 2000). Remarriages, especially those involving stepchildren, encounter additional relationship stress due to the complexities unique to stepfamily life (Ganong & Coleman, 2004). Previous research on marital quality in rural America has shown that rural couples, in general, exhibit decreased marital stability and satisfaction. These studies associate their findings with the economic pressures that are characteristic of rural areas (Conger et al., 1990, Conger & Elder, 1994). Collectively taking into account the literature on new marriages, remarriages, and rural marriages, we hypothesize that newly-remarried rural couples may experience considerable difficulties regarding marital satisfaction and instability. Specifically, using a sample of newly remarried couples from rural and urban areas, we investigate the rural influence of economic pressure upon self-reported marital instability and marital satisfaction. Several economic variables, which have been implicated in the extant literature as stressors in rural communities (i.e., financial pressure, income, family size, and education level) are examined in order to understand their influence on couples in this stage and type of marriage.

U cilju utvrđivanja povezanosti psihofizičkog zdravlja žena sa njihovim potencijalom za razvod, odnosno, sa njihovim razmatranjem razvoda, prikupljeni su podaci na uzorku od 1338 žena, starosti od 21 do 76 godina (AS = 40.07, SD = 9.10), koje su u bračnoj zajednici od jedne do 50 godina (AS = 15.52, SD = 8.85). Potencijal za razvod je meren skraćenom formom Indeksa bračne nestabilnosti (Martial Instability Index: Booth, Johnson & Edwards, 1983), dok je Skala psihofizičkog zdravlja (SPFZ-1: Majstorović, 2011) korišćena za procenu, kako opšteg psihofizičkog zdravlja, tako i njegovih različitih aspekata: poremećaja fizičkog zdravlja, straha i anksioznosti, depresivnih reakcija, umora, i poremećaja socijalnog ponašanja. Rezultati jednofaktorske multivarijantne analize kovarijanse (MANCOVA), pokazuju da su glavni efekti faktora stabilnost/nestabilnost bračnog odnosa, nakon statističkog uklanjanja uticaja roditeljstva, značajni na multivarijantnom nivou, pri čemu ispitanice koje svoj brak procenjuju kao stabilan ostvaruju više skorove na svim dimenzijama psihofizičkog zdravlja u odnosu na ispitanice koje svoj brak procenjuju kao nestabilan. Dobijeni rezultati sugerišu da je, pored razvoda braka, na šta ukazuju brojna dosadašnja istraživanja, i sama bračna nestabilnost značajno povezana sa različitim psihofizičkim simptomima.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to integrate the role of social networks and subjective norms into the theoretical framework of the investment model of relationships to predict marital stability among divorce-seeking couples in the city of Ilam. Methods: This research employed a correlational design. The statistical population included all divorce-seeking couples in Ilam during 2019–2020 who visited family courts, counseling centers, and divorce registry offices. A sample of 160 participants was selected using convenience sampling. Data collection utilized the following instruments: the Marital Instability Index (Edwards et al., 1987), the Social Networks in Marital Relationships Scale (researcher-developed, 2019), the Subjective Norms in Marital Relationships Scale (researcher-developed, 2019), and Rusbult’s Investment Model Scale (1980). Data analysis was conducted using path analysis via AMOS version 23. Findings: The findings indicated that the tested model exhibited acceptable fit. Significant positive correlations were found between marital satisfaction and marital commitment, while significant negative correlations were observed between the quality of alternative relationships and marital commitment. Additionally, relationship investment and marital commitment were significantly positively correlated. A significant relationship was identified between marital commitment and marital instability at the level of p<0.05. However, no significant relationship was observed between social networks and marital commitment or between subjective norms in marital relationships and marital commitment. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that marital commitment mediated the relationship between satisfaction with the relationship and marital instability (p≤.05), the quality of alternative relationships and marital instability (p≤.05), relationship investment and marital instability (p≤.01), and subjective norms and marital instability (p≤.05). However, marital commitment did not significantly mediate the relationship between the influence of social networks in marital relationships and marital instability. Conclusion: Based on the findings and the role of subjective norms and social networks within Rusbult’s investment model, the results of this study can be utilized in counseling centers to enhance and prevent the instability of marital relationships.

This study sought to establish the prevalence of marriage conflicts and marital instability among middle-aged couples in Suneka, Kisii County. The target population of the research was 1000 participants, with a focus on the middle-aged couples in Suneka, Kisii. The study was quantitative and employed a descriptive design. The study randomly drew a sample of 314 from the target population using Yaro Yamane formulae.  The data was collected using a structured questionnaire of 32 items. The researcher distributed the questionnaire to the 314 respondents and after two months she went back and collected the filled questionnaires. The data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23 and presented using tables. The findings of the study revealed a positive and significant relationship between couples’ prevalence and their marital stability. The study recommends that married couples need help in learning how to deal with conflicts. Teaching biblical principles of marriage can reduce if not end the trend of marital instability. This would be in line with Christian belief that God created man and woman and blessed their union to be a lifetime. However, as other factors may center on highly functioning marriages, quality sex life among couples is the main tributary of it (communication) to enhance the joyful and thankful relationship. Keywords: Prevalence of marriage conflicts, married couples, marital instability

After peaking around 1980, period rates of divorce seem to have stabilized in the United States. Nonetheless, there is still a great deal of theoretical and empirical interest in the determinants of marital instability. Conventional wisdom has long linked marital instability to the employment of married women, but the empirical findings in this literature are far from unequivocal. One of the more consistent findings is the of wife's employment: Nearly every empirical study suggests that there is a positive monotonic relationship between marital instability and the wife's number of hours employed per week. There are several different kinds of effects of wives' paid employment on marital stability presented in the literature. One school of thought holds that there is something inherent in the employment of married women that serves to destabilize the marriage, for example, by upsetting traditional marriage norms or by decreasing the husband's marital satisfaction. Another line of reasoning argues that the employment of married women and the expectation of continuing employment outside of marriage serves to make divorce more attractive. This viewpoint posits the employment of wives as a facilitating factor in divorce, not actually producing marital conflict but making divorce more likely for those couples for whom conflict already exists. The so-called absence effect argues that employment outside the home takes the wife away from traditional homemaking responsibilities, with possible effects of increasing stress and conflict within the marriage. Whether this explanation is correct or not, the of hours worked outside the home is well documented in the empirical literature. Mott and Moore (1979) found a positive relationship between number of hours of paid employment and probability of divorce for White women but not for Black women: White women who are employed 35 hours per week or more have a 60% greater risk of marital disruption over a 5-year period. Huber and Spitze (1980) found that wife's work history is positively related to thoughts of divorce. Greene and Quester (1982) observed that women in groups at high risk for divorce are more likely to be in the labor force, more likely to have higher wages, and more likely to work more hours than women in low-risk groups. Booth, Johnson, White, and Edwards (1984) found that total hours on the job and being employed over 40 hours per week are associated with a construct measuring marital instability. Spitze and South (1985) found that number of hours paid employment is significantly related to probability of divorce for women who work at least 35 hours per week (not controlling for income), while South and Spitze (1986) observed that being in the labor force and number of hours employed are related to divorce. Greenstein (1990) found that women who are employed more than 35 hours per week have more than twice the risk of marital disruption of women who are employed 20-35 hours per week, net of income, relative earnings ratio, and other factors. Greenstein also noted that the negative of hours employed on marital stability is partially offset by the positive effects of wives' income. A shortcoming in this literature is the implicit assumption made by most researchers that the stability of all marriages is affected in the same manner and at approximately the same level of magnitude by the wife's employment. However, those studies that have examined interactions of wives' employment characteristics with other variables have tended to find that the effects of wives' employment do vary. Analyzing the effects of hours employed separately for marriages varying in categories of children present, family income, and husband's attitude toward his wife's employment, Spitze and South (1985) found the effects strongest for childless women and women with preschoolers, for women in medium-and high-income families, and for women who perceive that their husbands disapprove of their employment, while Vannoy and Philliber (1992) found that gender role attitudes interact with wives' employment characteristics in terms of their effects on perceived marital quality. …

The economic and social desirability of marital stability is shown by its promotion of di-vision of labor, risk pooling, and encouragement of healthy behavior, while unstable mar-riages are linked to negative outcomes such as psychological and financial distress, im-paired child development, and long-term health challenges. It is worth noting that, while previously high divorce rates in developed countries appear to be slowing down, the op-posite might occur in developing countries. However, few studies have empirically ex-amined the causes of marital instability in developing countries. This study sought to em-pirically investigate marital instability in Nigeria by focusing on its key influencing fac-tors. The study collected data from 186 individuals in the urban and rural areas of Ibadan, the third most populous city in Nigeria, and used multivariate logistic regression analysis to investigate three marital states: divorce, separation, and widowhood. The results show that marriage duration, number of children, and marriage entry age have a substantial in-fluence on marital instability. The risk of divorce follows a U-shaped pattern, with the risk falling from age 26 to 30 and rising again until age 46. Thus, addressing the causes of ear-ly and late marriage entry could improve marital stability in Nigeria. Keywords: Household economics; Marital instability; Marriage market

Using national data on white ever-married women under forty-five, differentials in marital instability are examined for several of the wife's characteristics at first marriage and for the couple's combined age, education and religion. Dummy variable multiple regression is used to adjust for the effects of differing durations since first marriage and to obtain effects for each variable net of other variables. With other variables controlled, an inverse age at marriage-instability relationship persists; and differences in marital stability by education appear largely attributable to differences in age at marriage by education. Other characteristics we considered are the wife's religion while growing up, whether she grew up on a farm, whether she lived with both parents at age fourteen, whether she was pregnant before her first marriage and whether her first husband had been married before. When we included the husband's variables, we found husbands age at marriage and education to have a negative relationship with marital instability. Higher instability for intermarriage is found among couples divergent in age or religion; only extreme differences in education are associated with higher instability.

In India, marriage is seen as a union between two families, not just individuals. Parental interference significantly contributes to marital discord and rising divorce rates. This review examines the extent of parental interference, its impact on marital stability and divorce rates, and the underlying sociocultural factors. A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases for studies published between 2010 and 2023. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The review revealed a significant association between parental interference and marital instability, with an overall effect size (Hedges’ g) of 0.65. Excessive parental involvement often leads to resentment, loss of privacy, and conflicts between couples, exacerbated by the husband’s feelings of being overshadowed and the wife’s divided loyalty. Parental interference significantly contributes to rising divorce rates in India, reflecting a shift towards individualism among younger generations. Traditional family structures and cultural norms encourage high parental involvement, often continuing due to economic dependencies and respect for elders. This leads to increased stress, anxiety, and emotional estrangement among couples. Legal implications involve misuse of protective provisions, leading to prolonged legal battles and social stigmatisation. Parental interference is a critical factor in marital instability and rising divorce rates in India. Promoting marital autonomy, educating families on boundaries, and implementing legal reforms can be beneficial in fostering healthier marriages.

Background Childbearing holds profound social and personal significance for many Ghanaian married women. An inability to conceive threatens both the psychological well‐being and marital stability, often generating tension, distress, bitterness, pain and relational strain within the home. This study, therefore, aims to answer the research question: What is the impact of infertility on marital stability among Ghanaian women? Objective To explore the impact of infertility on marital stability. Method Articles published globally, specifically in Ghana, between January 2018 and January 2025 that explored the impact of infertility on marital stability among women were retrieved from scientific databases (PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, MEDLINE, ProQuest and ScienceDirect). The used keywords included “Impact, Infertility, and Marital stability”. A total of 52 articles meeting the inclusion criteria were assessed after data extraction was performed using the PRISMA (2018) guideline. Result A total of 52 studies were included, of which 38 studies (75%) reported significant marital instability, including destabilising homes, diminishing the quality of marital relationships and reducing partner interaction, ultimately contributing to marital instability, separation and divorce. Most studies were of moderate methodological quality, with common limitations related to sample sizes and theoretical frameworks. Conclusion Infertility exerts profound psychosocial effects on marital stability, particularly for women, who are often exposed to verbal and physical abuse, threats from spouses and in‐laws and, in severe cases, abandonment. Greater awareness of how infertility affects marital stability can guide community programmes that address cultural pressures around childbearing and support national reproductive health policies that integrate psychosocial care for women. These findings underscore the need for integrating psychosocial and marital counselling into infertility care and for policies that promote holistic, couple‐centred reproductive health services.

Background:High quality and supportive relationships is essential to develop healthy individuals in all aspects of life. This study deals with the marital instability frequency and its predisposing factors and predictors in a representative sample of Mashhad, Iran, in 2014.Methods:In a cross-sectional study, a total number of 583 couples participated. A checklist and the marital instability index (MII) were divided into 2 sections: the first section (part A) focused on the marital instability of couples and the second section (part B) focused on attractions and obstacles in each family, completed via a face-to-face interview.Results:247 (42.2%) participants were male and 338 (57.8%) were female. The median age of participants was 34 years with a maximum of 82. The mean score of the marital instability was 19.97 ± 7.29 and 13.96 ± 3.08 for attractions and obstacles. Age, education, suspicion regarding the partner, history of divorce, the way to get married (personal or by family), socioeconomic concordance with partner, expressing love to partner and partner expressing love, were identified as predictors of marital instability. Sex, addiction, history of divorce, socioeconomic fit, family interfering, violence behavior and love expression regarding the partner, were predictors of attractions and obstacles part.Conclusion:The overall score obtained from the marital instability questionnaire in this study was fair and showed lower levels of marital instability and divorce among our participants. However, it was necessary to inform young couple about the underlying factors of marital instability. Findings could be promising for the policy makers to design specific interventions suited to target population.

It has been revealed that recently there appear to be a kind of downward trend in marriage patronage in our society. The trend is prevalent in both western and non-western culture. Also, in the recent decade there seems to be a cut down in the interest of young people willing to go into marriage. This is as a result of the dwindling credibility that people attach to marriage and the retreat of men and women from getting married or patronizing marriage in our society today which seems to be a concomitant effect of the numerous crises bedeviling the marriage institution chief among which is marital instability. Unfortunately, not much is being done to redress this issue and since a stable marriage gives birth to a stable society and a stable nation, the primary aim of this study therefore was to determine the impact of educational attainment on marital stability among married persons in Imo State. The study adopted a casual comparative design. Eight hundred and three (803) married persons were selected through simple random sampling for the study. The study made use of questionnaire for the collection of data. Two research questions guided the study. Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient and independent T-test analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that there was a positive relationship between married persons’ low and high levels of educational attainment and marital stability while there was no significant relationship between those with medium level of educational attainment and their marital stability. Based on the findings, it was recommended that those involved and engaged in the marriage molding institution should organize seminars, workshops and conferences to educate intending couples with regard to choosing partners based on the couples’ educational attainment. Keywords: Impact, educational attainment, marital stability, married persons and Imo State