Marital Decision Research Articles

Behavior exchange theory and marital decision making.

Behavior exchange theory and marital decision making.

Abstracts

Friedman, P. H. Outline (alphabet) of 26 techniques of marital and family therapy: A through Z.Fuchs, K., Abramovici, H., Hoch, Z., Timor‐Tritsch, I. & Kleinhaus, M. Vaginismus—the hypno‐therapeutic approach.Goldberg, M. The uses of dreams in conjoint marital therapy.Grunebaum, H. & Abernethy, V. Marital decision making as applied to family planning.Hadley, T. R., Jacob, T., Milliones, J., Caplan, J., & Spitz, D. The relationship between family developmental crises and the appearance of symptoms in a family member.Jacobs, M. & Whiteley, J. M. (Eds.). Sex counseling.Leichter, E. & Schulman, G. L. Multi‐family group therapy: a multidimensional approach.McPherson, S. R., Brackelmanns, W. E., & Newman, L. E. Stages in the family therapy of adolescents.Slipp, S., Ellis, S., & Kressel, K. Factors associated with engagement in family therapy.Spark, G. Grandparents and intergenerational family therapy.Weakland, J.H., Fisch, R., Watzlawick, P., & Bodin, A. M. Brief therapy: focused problems resolution.Wilson, W. C. The distribution of selected sexual attitudes and behaviors among the adult population of the United States.

Dominance in Marital Decision Making in Women's Liberation and Non‐Women's Liberation Families

Fourteen couples of whom the wife was associated with the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) and 14 “traditional” couples were interviewed using a modified version of the Revealed Differences Technique. The WLM‐associated wives differed significantly from the control group in the dominance indices of “Speaks Last” (p < .001) and “Time Spoken” (p < .05) and in the content of responses to two of the ten interview questions. Analysis indicated that the WLM wives were more self‐reliant, while the control‐group wives were more passive and dependent. The two groups did not differ significantly on the “Speaks First” and “Decisions Won” indices of dominance and the conflict measures.

Love as a Factor in Marital Decision in Contemporary Poland

Premarital behavior and attitudes in contemporary Poland are presented, with emphasis on the social sphere in which future spouses become acquainted and on motivations in marital decisions. The diminishing parental role in marital choices of young people and abatement of the economic factor in marital selections for traditional families are discussed. Analysis is based on 1972 press survey results from a sample of 1,648 respondents to the Warsaw Youth Daily and from additional data. Familial, economic and emotional motivational concepts as well as traditional, universal and modern values in mate selection are examined. The most important variable is the respondent’s sex. When men and women give reasons for marriage, their opinions differ significantly. When speaking of themselves, both sexes claim similar motives for marriage. Each sex indicates a sexstereotypic reason for marital choice but the respondents’ marital decisions seem to be far from being based on a sex stereotype. The respondants themselves do not consider their own decisions as being based on sex stereotypes, possibly indicating that sex stereotypes, may no longer be taken for granted as a basis for marital decision. The main factor in modern marital decision is “love”, while the primary goal seems to be satisfying emotional desires.

The Marriage Game: Understanding Marital Decision-Making

The Marriage Game: Understanding Marital Decision-Making

Marital decision making as applied to family planning

Couple decision making concerning family planning is discussed. The literature and research in the field of couple decision making is reviewed. In any decision concerning family planning, there are 3 factors to consider: 1) the motivation, personality, and previous experience of each partner; 2) the couple interaction in decision making, which is based on considerations of power and affection; and 3) the ability of the partners to perceive and communicate their differences to each other. A decision making model for use by family planning counselors is proposed.

Normative Patterns of Marital Decision Making Power and Influence in Mexico and the United States: A Partial Test of Resource and Ideology Theory

A series of hypotheses regarding the effect selected resource and ideological variables will have on normative patterns of decision making and influence are tested with data from 266 conjugal pairs from five cities in Mexico and 119 conjugal pairs from Minneapolis-St. Paul. The partial tests of resource theory and ideological theory within and across culture support Rodman’s (1967, 1972) “cultural context hypothesis”. Normative cultural definitions act as contingent variables influencing the degree to which variation in resource level or ideology can effect decision making and influence across culture. Mexican husbands and wives are more patriarchal than American husbands and wives but the differences are not great. The impact of resources and ideology on normative patterns of marital decision making power and influence is in the direction of egalitarianism both in Mexico and the United States. Comparison with similar data, collected six years prior to this study, indicate a general shift from paternalism to egalitarianism in Mexico. The data reflect a transition stage where marital roles are undergoing change. This change appears more rapid in Mexico than the United States.

Marital Decision-Making in American and Danish Urban Families: A Research Note

Blood and Wolfe's theory of resources in marital decision-making was tested in a survey of American and Danish urban families. In both countries, marital power was neither consistently nor always positively correlated with the resources (family income or occupation) brought into the marriage by each spouse. However, wife's employment, whether part-time or fulltime, contributed to her increased power within the household. The importance of socioeconomic resources for marital decisionmaking may not derive primarily from the availability of financial and status rewards as much as from the opportunities for gaining experience in interpersonal and decision-making skills outside the family which an individual can then utilize within the family.