Marital Satisfaction of The Sandwich Generation in East Java

Abstract

This study aimed to assess marital satisfaction in the sandwich generation in East Java. It was conducted using quantitative methods based on the theory of Fowers and Olson, who developed the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMS) Inventory, which consisted of 10 dimensions with 42 items. The sample of this study was early and middle-aged adults from the sandwich generation in East Java. They were selected using the accidental sampling technique. The method of analysis used descriptive statistical techniques. The results showed that the 203 respondents felt very satisfied with their marriage. Nine marriage satisfaction dimensions: Personality Issues, Communication, Conflict Resolution, Financial Management, Leisure Activities, Sexual relationships, Children and Parenting, Family and Friends, and Equalitarian Roles-scored more than the population average, with the Sexual Relationship dimension having the highest empirical mean (22.128) among the marriage satisfaction dimensions. Only one, the Religious Orientation dimension, showed an empirical mean value (5.1970) that was lower than its hypothetical mean (6.000). This indicates that respondents tend to be dissatisfied with their marriage related to religious orientation.
 Keywords: Marital satisfaction, Sandwich generation, Dual-earner