Marital Responsibilities Research Articles

Effectiveness of quality of life therapy aimed at improving sexual self-efficacy and marital satisfaction in addict couples of treatment period.

Those who are addicted to substances face increased psychological emotional, social and economic problems which can potentially have negative impacts on marital satisfaction and sexual self-esteem and efficacy. Routine activities are often displaced by the need to satisfy the physiological urges. Within a marital union, this along with other variables can distract many from their expected marital responsibilities and daily activities. This study investigated quality of life, marital satisfaction, and sexual self-efficacy in couples who were both addicted to substances within an identified treatment period. The number of participants was 40 (N = 40). Participants were randomly assigned to two of four treatment conditions. Each group was comprised of 10 people undergoing treatment for addiction. All participants were couples entering treatment together who agreed to participate in a treatment program in Qazvin city. Instruments utilized in this investigation included the Enrich marital satisfaction questionnaire (short form) and the Reynolds’ sexual self-efficacy scale. Treatments consisted of eight sessions of training in the form of group therapy, which were conducted by trained clinicians. The control group consisted of those who were waiting for training. No treatment/ training was given. After intervention both groups were tested. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. The results indicated that training significantly improved marital satisfaction and sexual self-efficacy. Scores ob tained in the treatment and control group showed a significant difference ( p < 0.05). The conclusion of this study suggests that couples where both partners are addicted to substances can increase their levels of satisfaction and efficacy within the marital union. Quality of life therapy empowers people to actualize their knowledge, attitudes and values. These skills can enable partners to have increased motivation for starting healthy behaviors which will have significant impacts on their marital satisfaction and sexual function. Trainings designed to enhance communication and collaboration can improve the quality of the marital union despite the influence of substance and addiction within both marital partners.

How Will the Proliferation and Recognition of Domestic Partnerships Affect Marriage?

An important facet of the proposal for domestic partnership in Chapter 6 of the American Law Institute's (ALI) Family Dissolution Principles is consideration of some critical questions. Will recognizing same-sex and heterosexual domestic partners and extending to them the same property and alimony rights extended to married spouses harm marriage? If so, how? If not, how? These are core questions that will assert themselves in many ways indirectly in this symposium, but it is clearly beneficial to address these questions directly, in the context of the specific ALI proposals in Chapter 6 of the Family Dissolution Principles. The ALI Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution change the way we think about This discussion presents three considerations, or three potential answers to the central question. In the context of chapter 6 of the Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution proposed by the ALI, how will the recognition of domestic partnerships affect marriage? Answers: 1. Marriage will be downgraded, pragmatically easier to abandon. Particularly in light of the voluntary marital contracting promoted by the ALI recommendations, under chapter 6 of these proposals, marriage per se is no longer necessary for intimacy and companionship to be afforded many financial and legal benefits. The ALI's promotion of voluntary marital contracting make it increasingly possible for marriage partners to individualize the terms of their marriage?typically by contracting 'down' from statutory marriage, down to the point of depriving divorce of most legal consequences. This could also result in marriage being less emotionally and psychologically binding on its parties. 2. Options, choice and fluidity will dilute Chapter 6 of the Principles of Family Dissolution offers clarified rules for what has been long ago termed the law of companionate marriage. Diluted by options, the institution of marriage will suffer from being watered down, weakened, even insipid. Choice and fluidity will make marriage more flexible, and will present options always more appealing, more interesting, and newer than the last. American culture seems to be continually searching for another new ecstasy, another fantastic experience. Relationships are no different, particularly in this context of fluidity and flexibility in sexual arrangements offering financial benefits. These first two answers show how the ALI recommendations would allow most marital responsibility to be negated by voluntary marital contract, thus weakening marriage. Other scholars have also considered the possibility of this third answer. 3. Marriage become an elite category because of the specific, unique and complete legal protections it offers under the ALI recommendations. The ALI's principles impose greatly increased financial responsibility on divorce, thus strengthening marriage, while chapter 6 affords nearly every relational partnership financial benefits. This paradox could push many individuals searching for depth and meaning in their associations, affairs and personal relationships toward the high quality commitment marriage offers. Even in light of the benefits afforded to domestic partnerships under chapter 6, marriage remains superior to these arrangements. Individuals pursuing quality lifetime commitment arrangements will opt for marriage when at all possible.

Talking about Sex: Contemporary Construction of Sexuality in Rural Kenya

Discussion of sexuality in Kuria District in rural Kenya is constrained by relationships of respect between parents and children. Grandparents and peers were and continue to be the main sources of knowledge and information on the subject. As the arbiters of norms and values grandparents convey reproduction as the goal of sexual activity carried out within the context of marital responsibilities. Peers provide a more practice-oriented perspective as well as form the community of peers which ultimately enforces the norms based on cultural notions of appropriate and inappropriate behavior. The growing importance of education mandated by shifting economic political and social contexts is helping redefine roles and expectations but has not yet become fully integrated into the discourse of processes needed to define guidelines for regulating adolescent sexuality to reflect more closely the contemporary situation within which adolescents learn about the practice appropriate sexual behaviors. (authors)

Talking about Sex: Contemporary Construction of Sexuality in Rural Kenya

Discussion of sexuality in Kuria District in rural Kenya is constrained by relationships of respect between parents and children. Grandparents and peers were, and continue to be, the main sources of knowledge and information on the subject. As the arbiters of norms and values, grandparents convey reproduction as the goal of sexual activity, carried out within the context of marital responsibilities. Peers provide a more practice-oriented perspective, as well as form the community of peers which ultimately enforces the norms, based on cultural notions of appropriate and inappropriate behavior. The growing importance of education, mandated by shifting economic, political, and social contexts is helping redefine roles and expectations, but has not yet become fully integrated into the discourse or processes needed to define guidelines for regulating adolescent sexuality to reflect more closely the contemporary situation within which adolescents learn about and practice appropriate sexual behaviors.

The Misguided Movement to Revive Fault Divorce, and Why Reformers Should Look Instead to the American Law Institute

Many American states allow unilateral no-fault divorce without significant waiting periods, and typically these states also exclude consideration of marital misconduct in the determination of financial awards at divorce. In recent years these laws have come under increasing criticism in both political and academic debates. This article examines those debates. It surveys the available social science evidence on whether such pure no-fault laws increase divorce rates, considers the possible negative impact of proposals to reinstate waiting periods, and analyses three other arguments made for reforming pure no-fault laws: that fault rules are needed to deter bad or selfish marital behaviour, to avoid unjust outcomes, or to prevent parties from shirking their marital responsibilities. The article concludes that there is little evidence that pure no-fault laws have any negative effects, considerable reason to believe that lengthened waiting periods do more harm than good, and both practical and principled reasons to be cautious about using legal sanctions to shape or affect marital behaviour. Finally, the article briefly summarizes some proposals recendy endorsed by the American Law Institute for reforming the laws of property division and, especially, alimony (renamed compensatory payments). It argues that an important virtue of these proposals - an improvement in the predictability and reliability of financial remedies at divorce - would be impossible to realize in a divorce regime that allowed consideration of marital misconduct.

NARROWING THE GAP OR CLOSING THE DOOR: WHAT KINDS OF WOMEN GET JOBS AS LEGISLATORS

Previous studies of the impact of gender upon legislatures have shown conflicting findings regarding the backgrounds, qualifications and types of men and women serving as legislators. Women appear to have narrowed the gap in terms of some of these background variables but still face significant obstacles. This study examines the impact of major institutional factors upon the roles of men and women. Survey and interview methodology compare two important aspects of institutionalization: The U.S. type legislature is compared with a major parliamentary system (Australia), and professionalized legislators are compared with the non‐professionalized. The study finds that women have achieved parity with men in regard to education and employment history, regardless of the type of system. However, there are significant differences in incumbency, with women being relatively recent entrants into the Australian system. Moreover, women in Australian parliaments encounter more problems regarding child‐care and marital responsibilities than their U.S. counterparts.

Marriage and Women's Occupational Attainment in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Employing data from 12 industrial societies, the present paper investigates differences in the laborforce behavior, occupational distribution, and attainment patterns of ever and never married women. The analysis tests one explanation for occupational sex segregation-dual career theory, which attributes women's concentration in low-paying employment to gender differences in marital and childrearing responsibilities. The results for the twelve countries offer some support for the assertion that never married women are more similar to men than ever married women, but not in all respects related to their occupational behavior. Although marital responsibilities affect the extent to which women work and the kinds of jobs in which they are employed, these differences for the most part do not translate into differences in occupational prestige or wage rate. Thus, women's economic disadvantage, relative to men, cannot be attributed solely, or even in large measure, to gender differences in marital responsibilities. Never married women, who have no immediate marital responsibilities, do not fare much better than married women in their occupational attainment.

Marginality and nonconformist behaviour

Abstract On the basis ofcertain indicators of value-orientations differing from those found in society at large and which are subscribed to by a considerable percentage of the Coloureds of South Africa. the following hypothesis is presented. namely that: (a) marginality can predispose an individual to nonconformist behaviour ߞ nonconformist in terms of the values of those who do not find themselves in such a position -; further that: (b) marginal persons behave differently from non-marginal persons. In an investigation concerning work-shyness amongst the Coloureds of South Africa. the following indicators of different value-orientations were found: (1) nonconformist behaviour amongst parents and children; (2) disturbed family relations; (3) unsatisfactory progress at school; (4) truancy; (5) revolt against authority; (6) occupational instability; (7) parasitism; (8) evasion of marital responsibilities; (9) indifference to religious matters; (10) apathy; and (11) contempt of authority. A marginal position is probably the most frustrating and torturing position imaginable. and the fact that individuals who find themselves in a marginal position hold different value-orientations concerning certain community-values and norms and behave differently. may be regarded as an implicit result — an almost inevitable consequence — of their marginality.