Commitment To Marriage Research Articles

Marriage and religious commitment; the case of Chabad Chasidic women

Marriage and religious commitment; the case of Chabad Chasidic women

Interfaith Marriage and Religious Commitment among Catholics

Based on a sample of Catholics, this study examines the common assertion that interfaith marriages have a secularizing effect on family members by assessing the effects of the respondent's and his/her parents' type of religious marriage on 11 measures of religious commitment. On 3 of these measures (orthodoxy, religious salience, and God's influence on life), offspring of Catholic-conservative Protestant marriages scored highest, followed by offspring of homogamous Catholic and Catholic-liberal Protestant marriages, respectively. In addition, Catholics married to non-Catholics scored lower on attending mass and receiving communion than Catholics in homogamous marriages. Contrary to the secularization hypothesis, however, most of the religiosity measures were unrelated to both respondent's and parents' marital type. The implications these findings have for certain theoretical ideas that suggest that mixed marriages weaken religious commitment are discussed.

Commitment and the Long-Term Marriage Relationship

This was a study of the relationship of commitment in marriage and change in commitment over marriage to the expression of love and marriage problems among long-term Norwegian married couples. The sample consisted of 72 subjects with an average age of 66.7 years and married an average of 37.3 years. It was found that those who were committed to their spouses as persons had significantlyfewer marriage problems. Those whose commitment appeared to increase in the direction of increased commitment to the spouse as a person over the course of marriage expressed significantly more love to their spouses and had significantly fewer marriage problems. However, commitment to the spouse as a person declined for most couples over the course of marriage.

Relational Interdependence and Commitment in Marriage

This research was designed to examine, from a social exchange perspective, the interaction between several indicators of relational interdependence and relational commitment in married individuals. It was hypothesized that a high level of interdependence-as indicated by high levels of outcomes (or satisfaction) derived from a relationship, equity experienced within a relationship, and the presence of strong barriers to the dissolution of the relationship-would be positively correlated with a high degree of relational commitment, as measured by low levels of monitoring of alternatives and high levels of cohesion and solidarity. In addition, the differential impact of the indicators of interdependence were examined for their relative contributions in predicting commitment. Results support the hypothesis in that a high level of interdependence-as measured by its indicators-positively covaried with commitment. In addition, perceived equity in the distribution of outcomes within a relationship was the variable found to account for the largest percentage of variance in levels of commitment reported for both husbands and wives.

Structural Exchange and Marital Interaction

This paper explores the potential contributions of social exchange theory in investigations of stable marital interaction patterns. It is argued that social exchange has been most effectively utilized in the marriage and family literature to explain mate-selection and relationship formation or dissolution processes while having contributed less to the study of stable marital relationships. An explanation posited is that the structural, cognitive, and temporal dimensions of social relationships have been deemphasized in sociological exchange theory. This has resulted in problematic application to the study of marital relationships which evidence structural and normative constraints, internalized role expectations and obligations, and unequal distribution of resources resulting in asymmetrical exchange. This paper explores the possibilities of a structural exchange theory of marital interaction by discussing the importance of considering structural and temporal dimensions involved in marital exchange and the need to examine the influence of the social structure on the cognitive orientations of the marital partners and the subsequent exchange relationship. Finally, the paper examines how trust and commitment in marriage affect marital exchange processes and incorporates these concepts into this theoretical approach.

Trends Affecting Adolescent Views of Sexuality, Employment, Marriage, and Child Rearing

The review presents a summary of (a) four changes within society i.e. sexual standards occupational goals of men and women commitment in marriage and changing standards of child rearing in terms of their impact on adolescents views of the family; (b) short- and long-term effects of adolescent marriage on their views; and (c) what can be anticipated of adolescents in the decade ahead in order to illustrate both the continuities and changes in adolescents views of the family. (authors)

The Divorced Catholics Movement

A significant movement is developing in the American Roman Catholic church, offering education, support, and recovery to people going through divorce. Almost 500 support groups have emerged. This close attention to the experience of divorced Catholics is raising complex questions about the traditional attitudes and discipline of the Catholic church on this issue. A lessening of stigmatization and rejection of the divorced in the Catholic community is discernible already. The church is struggling to find ways to continue to value permanent marriage commitment, while being more sensitive to the personal need of many divorced persons for a new marriage.

Open Marriage: Implications for Human Service Systems

We, ourselves, as individuals from two different backgrounds, as developing personalities with distinct identities, as husband and wife, and as mother and father of two grown sons, have in the half century of our lives witnessed the profound alterations in our social and technological organizations. They have influenced us in a deeply personal manner as individuals, as parents, as a family, and as members of our society, just as they have influenced other individuals and families living in a world of rapid social change. For many, these changes have raised questions concerning commitment to marriage. The meaning of commitment in marriage and family life today is being modified and both the individuals and the systems that service their needs require review as to the meanings and goals of their mutual involvement in the institution of marriage. In response to the rapid changes in our social, psychological and physical environment, many variant and experimental family and marriage forms have emerged, not all of them monogamous. We frankly believe that

Some Intergenerational Comparisons in Two Ethnic Communities in Israel

This article reports the responses of 30 fathers and 30 sons in two ethnic communities in Israel on matters pertaining to the sons' education, future occupation, marriage, religious and political commitments and plans for involvement in the life of the community. The two communities are urban Israeli Arabs (i.e., Arabs who have lived in Israel at least since the establishment of the state) and ultra-Orthodox Jews, whose families came originally from Eastern Europe. For different reasons, members of both communities have remained outside the mainstream of Israeli society. The major purpose of this research was to make some prognosis concerning the future integration of these communities vis-a-vis the larger society. The findings show that Arab adolescents are more motivated to integrate themselves into some aspects of Israeli society, mainly the educational and occupational spheres, and are critical of their fathers on these matters. Among the orthodox Jews the adolescents show little interest in extending...