Quality of Marital Life among Women of Agartala City

Abstract

Marriage is social framework through which man and woman come closer to one another and begin living respectively. Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws, as well as society in general (Haviland et al., 2011). The protective effects of mamage for physical and emotional well-being are widely documented (Carr & Springer, 2010). However, recent research shows that these effects are conditional upon the quality of the marriage; problematic marriages take an emotional toll, whereas high-quality marriages provide benefits, especially for women (Proulx, Helms, & Buehler, 2007).Marital quality is the spouses' subjective evaluation of their marital relationships, including in terms of satisfaction, happiness, strain, and conflict. Lewis and Spanier incorporate terms like marital satisfaction, marital happiness, and marital adjustment in the overall definition of marital quality. The characteristic in each of these terms is the qualitative or subjective dimension of marital quality. According to Lewis and Spanier (1979), marital quality is a subjective evaluation of married couple's relationship.Physical, social and psychological readiness, maturities are important in marital relationship and this fact has been supported by Mehandiratta et al. (2007). Lee (1977) found positive correlation between age at time of marriage and marital satisfaction. This study also indicated that as the age of marriage increased, marital satisfaction increased as well. Researches indicated that people who married at an early age were more likely to experience hardship in their marital role performance, which then led to marital dissatisfaction. Booth, Johnson, and Edwards (1983) found that marital instability is the highest for those who married early (before age 20).Researches on impact of education on marital quality showed inconsistent results. Singh et al. (2006) found strong positive effect of education on marital quality. But studies by Amato et al. (2003); Umberson et al. (2005); VanLaningham et al. (2001) and Pimentel (2000) found no impact of education on marital quality.Review of literatures highlighted length of marriage (years of marriage) as another potential factor for marital quality. Amato & Cheadle (2005) mentioned that half of all divorces occur within the first 7 years of marriage. Snyder, Heyman, and Haynes (2005) also reported the same finding. They concluded that about half of these divorces occurring within the first 7-8 years of marriage.Selection of partner on the basis of love, friendship, compatibility and interpersonal attractions (Lee & Stone, (1980) plays crucial role in marital quality. Boykin (2004); Dinna (2005); Lev-Wiesel and Al-Krenawi (1999) opined that couple in love-matched marriage have more satisfaction and marital adjustment than couple of arranged marriages.In order to understand the dimension and determinants of marital quality among women of Agartala, the present study has been conducted. The main aim of this study was to enhance understanding of marital quality, as well as attitudes and behaviours related to relationship formation.Hypotheses of the studyIn the present study four hypotheses have been formulated. These are* Marital quality of married women does not differ significantly with respect to their age differences.* Marital quality of married women does not differ significantly with respect to their educational differences.* Marital quality of married women does not differ significantly with respect to their length of marriage* Marital quality of married women does not differ significantly with respect to their type of marriage (love/ arrange marriage).MethodParticipantsThe study sample comprised of 150 randomly selected married women from Agartala (Municipality Corporation area). …