Marital Satisfaction Of Spouses Research Articles

PSYCHIATRIC MORBIDITY AND MARITAL SATISFACTION IN SPOUSES OF PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE SYNDROME

Background: Prevalence of alcohol dependence in men has been increasing worldwide, particularly in India. Alcohol dependence syndrome appears to be associated with psychiatric problems specially among spouses. Understanding and addressing the effects of such psychiatric problems becomes necessary. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of psychiatric morbidity and marital satisfaction in spouses of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome. Materials and Methods: 246 men with alcohol dependence syndrome and their spouses were evaluated. Marital satisfaction was assessed using the ENRICH marital satisfaction scale. Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interviews (MINI) was used to screen for the possible presence of psychiatric morbidity among spouses. Severity of alcohol dependence in the husbands and consequences of drinking was assessed using Short Alcohol Dependence Data (SADD) and drinkers inventory of consequences (DrInC) respectively. Results: More than half of the spouses (57.72%) had a psychiatric disorder. Primarily mood and anxiety disorder were present. Major depressive disorder was present in 33.33%. Psychiatric morbidity among spouses was significantly associated with SADD. Significant association was found between age, education status, occupation, religion and psychiatric morbidity of spouses. Marital satisfaction score was low and conflicts between the couple was significantly associated with psychiatric morbidity of spouses. Conclusion: Psychiatric morbidity in spouses of alcohol dependent men is high, with marital satisfaction being low. Addressing these issues in spouses can improve their quality of life as they play an important role in the treatment of alcohol dependence syndrome.

Sexual dysfunction in alcohol-dependent men and its correlation with marital satisfaction in spouses: A hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Background:Chronic use of alcohol affects almost every organ system of the body, including male sexual functions. There are only a few Indian studies, which have assessed sexual functions in alcohol-dependent (AD) men and many of them have limitations. This study was aimed to assess sexual functions and marital satisfaction among AD individuals compared to matched controls.Subjects and Methods:A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 70 AD men (study group) and an equal number of matched controls and their spouses in the Department of psychiatry of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Ajmer. Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale, Revised, and Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) were used to assess withdrawal state and severity of alcohol dependence in the AD group. Marital Adjustment Test (MAT) and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) were used in both study and control groups to assess marital satisfaction and various aspects of sexual functioning.Results:More than half of the men (58.6%) with alcohol dependence were found to have sexual dysfunction compared to only one-fifth in the control group (18.5%). The most commonly affected sexual functions were the ability to get and keep erection (70%) and arousal (62.8%). There was a large negative correlation of MAT scores in the AD group with the SADQ, rho (ρ) = −0.68, and sexual dysfunction (ASEX), rho (ρ) = −0.57. However, the duration of alcohol use did not have any significant association with marital satisfaction.Conclusions:This study showed that participants with AD were more likely to have sexual dysfunction and lower level of marital satisfaction in their spouses. This effect was not because of acute intoxication of alcohol or withdrawal symptoms. We need further research to ascertain whether sexual dysfunction and marital dissatisfaction is a result of alcohol dependence or its reinforcer or both.

The role of personality and love style in marital satisfaction: Does similarity matter?

BackgroundScientific study of marital satisfaction attracted widespread attention decades ago. Since then, hundreds of studies have been conducted on determinants of marital satisfaction. The present study attempted to extend previous research on marital life by discussing two important correlates of marital satisfaction: personality traits and love styles. By emphasizing the similarity of personality traits and attitudes toward love in dyads, the study seeks the possible influential constituents for marital outcomes.Participants and procedureEighty-seven (N = 174) married heterosexual couples recruited through a convenience sampling procedure participated in the study. They completed the following questionnaires: the HEXACO Personality Inventory, Love Attitudes Scale, and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS).ResultsHusbands’ honesty/humility level was positively correlated with their own and wives’ marital satisfaction. Spouses were similar in some love styles. The discrepancy in their attitudes toward love may have negative as well as positive outcomes, depending on whether we consider husbands’ or wives’ marital satisfaction. Personality traits and love styles discrepancy scores predicted participants’ marital satisfaction.ConclusionsPersonality traits and love styles play a significant role in marital satisfaction for both women and men. Marital satisfaction has somewhat different correlates in the case of wives and husbands. Having a different personali-ty or love styles also has different associations with the marital satisfaction of spouses.

Factors that affect marital satisfaction of spouses in marriages for 5 years or fewer and 6 years or more

Factors that affect marital satisfaction of spouses in marriages for 5 years or fewer and 6 years or more

Marital satisfaction among spouses of patients with severe mental illness attending psychiatry OPD in AIMS, Kochi

A quantitative approach descriptive study was conducted to assess marital satisfaction among 60 spouses of patients diagnosed with severe mental illness. The objectives of the study were to; assess the marital satisfaction among spouses of patients with severe mental illness, find the association between marital satisfaction of spouses and their selected demographic variables and find the association between marital satisfaction of spouses and selected patient variables. The data was collected using socio demographic sheet of both spouses and patients, Couples Satisfaction Index (structured interview). The major findings of the study were, the marital satisfaction among spouses of 60 patients with severe mental illness was assessed. Satisfaction in marital relationship was found in 41(68.3%) of the spouses and 19(31.7%) were unsatisfied in their marital relationship. It was found that among the 60 subjects, 48(80%) were unhappy with their relationships and only 12(20%) of the subjects were happy in their marital relationship. Also it was found that, only 5% of the subjects feels the relationship as interesting, 1.7% as good, 3.3% as full, 3.3% as full and friendly, 8.3% as sturdy and 5% as hopeful and enjoyable. These findings reveals that the spouses of mentally ill clients are themselves at risk for psychological distress due to the burdens associated with caring for someone with mental illness; burdens such as the feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, fear, uncertainty, the possibility of re-occurrence of disease, the emotional strain on the spouse, and the individual's lack of energy.

Meaningfulness of service and marital satisfaction in Army couples.

The vast numbers of military service members who have been deployed since 2001 highlights the need to better understand relationships of military couples. A unique consideration in military couples is the concept of meaningfulness of service, or the value service members and their partners place on military service in spite of the sacrifices it requires. In a sample of 606 Army couples, the authors used path analysis to examine how male service members' and female spouses' perceived meaningfulness of service added to the prediction of marital satisfaction in both members of the couple, when accounting for service members' PTSD symptoms. Spouses' perceived meaningfulness of service was linked with higher marital satisfaction in spouses, regardless of service member's perceived meaningfulness of service. Service members' perceived meaningfulness of service was also associated with increased marital satisfaction in service members, but only when their spouses also perceived higher meaningfulness. There were no significant interactions between service members' PTSD and either partner's perceived meaningfulness. Implications for enhanced attention to spousal perceptions of meaningfulness of service are discussed.

Psychiatric morbidity and marital satisfaction among spouses of men with alcohol dependence

Background:Alcohol dependence has adverse health and social consequences; Alcohol related problems primarily occur within the family context and maximum impact is felt on spouses, given the intimate nature of their relationship. Spouses play an important role in treatment programs related to alcohol. There is thus a need to study psychiatric morbidity and marital satisfaction in spouses of alcohol dependent patients in order to understand and address such issues.Aims:The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of psychiatric morbidity, marital satisfaction in spouses of men with alcohol dependence syndrome and explore the association.Materials and Methods:For psychiatric morbidity, 60 spouses of men with alcohol dependence syndrome were evaluated. Marital satisfaction was assessed using the marital satisfaction scale. Severity of alcohol dependence in the husbands and consequences of drinking was assessed using short alcohol dependence data and drinkers inventory of consequences respectively.Results:More than half of the spouses (65%) had a psychiatric disorder. Primarily mood and anxiety disorder were present. Major depressive disorder was present in 43%. Psychiatric morbidity, marital dissatisfaction in spouses and higher adverse consequences alcohol dependence in their husbands, were found to be significantly correlated with each other and their association was robust particularly when problems in the physical, interpersonal and intrapersonal domains were high.Conclusion:Psychological distress and psychiatric morbidity in spouses of alcohol dependent men is high, with marital satisfaction being low. Addressing these issues will be beneficial as spouses are known to play an important role in the treatment of alcohol dependence syndrome.

Psychological symptoms and marital satisfaction in spouses of Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans: Relationships with spouses' perceptions of veterans' experiences and symptoms.

Much research has shown that spouses of combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have higher rates of psychological and marital distress than do spouses of veterans without PTSD; however, very few studies have examined potential mechanisms of this increased vulnerability. The current study examined spouses of National Guard soldiers recently returned from deployments in Iraq. In addition to documenting elevated levels of psychological symptoms in these spouses, the authors found that spouses experienced greater symptom severity when they perceived high levels of symptoms in soldiers but the soldiers endorsed low levels of symptoms. Furthermore, spouses' marital satisfaction was negatively linked to soldiers' self-reported symptom severity only when spouses perceived that soldiers had experienced low levels of combat activity while deployed. When spouses perceived high levels of such activity, soldiers' self-reported symptoms had no relationship with spouses' marital satisfaction. These findings highlight the importance of interpersonal perceptions in intimate relationships and are consistent with the notion that uncontrollable attributions for a relative's mental health problems may provide a buffer against relationship distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).

Intimacy and Marital Satisfaction in Spouses

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between intimacy and marital satisfaction of couples in different stages of the family life cycle. The Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (PAIR) questionnaire (Schaefer & Olson, 1981) and a subscale of the Enriching and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH) questionnaire (Olson, Fournier, & Druckman, 1982) were administered to 57 couples. Significant differences between men and women were found on two of the five aspects of experienced intimacy (sexual and recreational) as well as for social and sexual discrepancy scores (difference between experienced and desired intimacy). With the exception of social intimacy as experienced by women, a positive correlation was found for both sexes between all the components of experienced intimacy and marital satisfaction. No differences were found for experienced intimacy or marital satisfaction according to family developmental stages.

Personal goals and social support in close relationships: Effects on relationship mood and marital satisfaction.

Two studies examined the importance of social support as related to the pursuit of personal goals in accounting for individuals' satisfaction with close relationships. In Study I, students' estimations of how much support they received from partners for goals within and outside their relationships predicted individual differences in both enactment of personal goals and relationship mood 4 weeks later. Study 2 found that differences in receiving and giving goal support within marriage accounted for concurrent differences in the marital satisfaction of spouses. Wives' and husbands' satisfaction was differentially related to spousal support of relationship goals and individual goals outside marriage. Results are discussed in terms of need for further analysis of the role personal goals play in the development of close relationships.

Marital Adjustment to Adult Diabetes: Interpersonal Congruence and Spouse Satisfaction

This study investigates adjustment to insulintreated diabetes among 20 adult patients and their spouses; sex is balanced for patients and spouses. Using a multimethod (qualitative and quantitative) research design, the authors examine several psychosocial factors, including attitudes and knowledge about diabetes, illness self-disclosure, health locus of control of patients and spouses, and marital satisfaction of spouses. Illness-related perceptions of patients and spouses are positively correlated and discrepancies decrease with increasing duration of marriage after diagnosis. Marital satisfaction of spouses is negatively related to their knowledge about diabetes, perception of patient secretiveness, illness difficulty and severity, and discrepancies with patient attitudes. Also examined are the positive adaptations to diabetes. These findings support and extend the Hill ABCX model of family adjustment to stress.