Individual Personality and Emotional Readiness Characteristics Associated with Marriage Preparation Outcomes of Perceived Helpfulness and Change

Little is known about the characteristics of individual participants for whom particular marriage preparation interventions are most helpful and change producing. Data collected from 1,655 intervention participants via the online RELATionship Evaluation Questionnaire (RELATE) were used to analyze the association of eight individual personality characteristics with perceived helpfulness and positive change resulting from participation in four marriage preparation interventions (classes, community workshops, premarital counseling, self-directed) and whether this association would also be related to gender, age, and education of the participants. General linear modeling (GLM) analysis revealed different patterns of prediction for each type of intervention. Kindness was identified most often, predicting perceived change in individual, couple, and context areas among community workshop participants, perceived couple-level change, and helpfulness among self-directed participants, and perceived individual-level change among class participants. No factors significantly predicted perceived helpfulness and change among premarital counseling participants. Implications for premarital interventions are discussed.     

A New Model for Premarital Counseling Within the Church

The divorce rate among Christians is higher than that of the average population. This statistic is cause for concern and change in church preparation for marriage. Although instruction for pastoral premarital counseling exists, most churches do not follow the minimum guidelines. Churches need a new proactive model for building good marriages rather than mending broken ones. This article presents one such model for marriage preparedness. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary     

Marriage patterns among Havik Brahmins: A 20-year study of change

Data on 94 women gathered during four field trips to a village located in the Malnad area of Karnataka form the basis of this examination of changes in Havik Brahmin marriage patterns over a 20-year period. Four case studies of marriages and two case studies of single women illustrate social change, particularly the influence of increased education, marriage age, and marriage choice. These case studies illustrate that, with an increase in marriage age and an increase in educational level, women have increased independence as daughters, brides, wives, and mothers. Concurrent with this is a decreased emphasis on ritual. Women have become assertive as they have perceived options. The socialization of women into learned helplessness and absolute dependence on men is in the past. Where women were perceived and perceived themselves as forever childlike, they now have grown to maturity. Men have to acknowledge women's educational achievements, especially when sisters achieve more than their brothers. With the recognition of feminine achievement has come increased independence for women. Mothers who have been bitter about their own limitations have encouraged daughters to achieve. With a change from an ascribed status of men as superior to achieved status based on merit has come increased opportunities for women.     

A Review of Research-Based Interventions on Marriage Preparation

This review concentrates on three widely used marriage preparation inventories and a group of smaller, well-researched couple questionnaires used by an extensively researched marriage preparation program. The three inventories included are Facilitating Open Couples Communication Understanding and Study, Premarital Preparation and Relationship Enhancement, and Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire. The review describes the context in which the tools were developed, their similarities and differences and psychometric properties, and research regarding their relation to relationship outcomes. Further research is needed to determine the effect of using a pre-marriage inventory, alone or in conjunction with facilitated discussion and/or other marriage preparation activities, on long-term marital stability and satisfaction.     

Object Relations Theory and Marital Interaction

SUMMARY

A model of marital communication based on object relations theory is presented, and its utility in integrating and organizing findings from psychological research on marital interaction is described. The model includes context and process components. The context model describes stages of development and lines of development in marriage that jointly influence the sorts of situations that come to the couple's attention. The process model describes a path that leads from situations to each partner's representation of the situation, and then to the acts of communication that form the partners' interaction. The influence of internal object representations on the process of communication is depicted. A feedback loop in the model implies both the possibility of change and also the potential limits on change at several levels of the marital system. Possible paths of unconscious communication are described that reflect the more dynamic aspects of object relations theory. Principal findings from psychological research on marital interaction, marital therapy, and. social cognition are reviewed, and shown to be consistent with the model. Ways that constructs from object relations theory may clarify questions in behavioral models of marital interaction are discussed. The difference between proving the validity of a model and showing its Consistency with the known facts is noted     

Developing skills and credibility in marriage preparation ministry

Resources for the constitutent parts of marriage preparation ministry are reviewed. The difference between marriage preparation and premarriage counseling is delineated. Skills are suggested to increase the pastor's effectiveness and credibility.Dr. Rolfe was previously Program Coordinator, Marriage Preparation Programs, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He has led seminars for clergy of many denominations in Great Britain, Canada and the United States.     

Premarital counseling: A needs assessment among engaged individuals

Although engaged individuals are the primary consumers of premarital counseling, no previous research has explored their perceptions regarding marriage preparation. This article reports what engaged individuals believe are the important areas to address when preparing couples for marriage. It also explores other attitudes and preferences that engaged individuals have toward marriage preparation.     

Readiness for commitment: applying psychological constructs to pastoral issues in marriage

The current crisis in marriage is partly related to people having problems in living their commitments. To investigate this phenomenon, a self-report instrument, the Commitment to Partnership Scale (CPS) was adopted to identify and measure those factors considered essential to marriage commitment: Attachment, Trust, Maturity, Investment, and Values. The CPS was given to 430 people in a significant relationship, from a Roman Catholic population, and from two different groups. One group was a sample of engaged couples during their marriage preparation courses (N=234). The other group consisted of a number of people who had their marriage annulled on psychological grounds (N=49). T-test results showed a significant difference between the two groups on all factors. The CPE was able to identify problem areas with lower than average scores. These were confirmed when a feedback was given. The CPS showed discriminant validity, a reasonable predictable value for commitment, and real possibilities as a valid pastoral tool.     

Marriage preparation and marriage enrichment: The preventive approach

Premarital counseling and marriage enrichment are viewed as two areas of a life continuum prevention program. Premarital counseling is seen as the first step in preparation for marriage, to be followed six months to a year after marriage by a neomarital counseling experience. Content and process for the counseling are elaborated. Marriage enrichment groups are recommended at various points during the life of a marriage. Three models for enrichment are presented. Prevention programs are viewed as vital experiences for personal and relationship maintenance and growth.He is also a member of the faculty of Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Waterloo, Ontario.     

Phobia and counterphobia: family aspects of agoraphobia

Twelve cases with agoraphobic and other phobic symptoms are presented. Their family backgrounds and marital relationships are delineated. A consistent pattern, the phobic-counterphobic system, emerges. This contains five elements. (1) Anxious ambivalent attachment, which characterizes the previous childhood relationships of both partners in the marriage. The future patient has responded to this with a tendency to clinging behaviour, her spouse with a propensity to detachment. (2) A marriage in which, initially, each, through the other, escapes from their childhood difficulties. (3) A precipitating change with challenges the couple's illusionary unity. (4) A period of escalation and failure of reassurance by the husband. (5) The illness, which stabilizes the system and leads to a 'compulsory marriage'. Therapeutic approaches for each of these elements are described.     

Marital commitment,money and marriage preparation: What changes after the wedding?

This paper explores conceptions of commitment and styles of money management in heterosexual couples at two points in time: Just before the wedding (T1) and about a year later (T2). It also examines the potential effects of using FOCCUS as a form of marriage preparation (MP). Forty‐two couples were recruited at T1 and randomly allocated to either A MP group and a group that would not be offered any marriage preparation ‐ the Non‐Marriage Preparation group (NMP). Individual, in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were carried out at T1 and T2, recorded and fully transcribed. A thematic analysis (TA) yielded three themes or levels of commitment which were used to categorize couples at T1 and T2. Their money management styles were defined based on Pahl's ( 1989 ) typology. The results showed that conceptions of commitment had developed slightly overall by T2, and had been enhanced in the MP group. At T2, a more elaborated conception of commitment was associated with a greater tendency to treat money as a collective resource. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Revisiting the Relationship Between Marriage and Wellbeing: Does Marriage Quality Matter?

This paper revisits the marriage and wellbeing relationship using variables reflecting marriage quality and data from the US, the UK and Germany. People in self-assessed poor marriages are fairly miserable and much less happy than unmarried people, even in the first year of marriages. However, people in self-assessed good marriages are even happier than the literature suggests. Women show greater range of responses to marriage quality than men. The effect of employment status and subjective health on happiness and the marriage effects on interpersonal trust and mental health change dramatically when marriage quality is controlled for. A strong link from happiness to marriage does not exist. However, happier people are more likely to stay single instead of being unhappily married, but less likely to stay single compared to being very happily married and happiness cannot predict staying single versus being pretty happily married.     

Social Change and Marital Problems: Implications for Marriage Counselling

There are many reasons why people experience marital dissatisfaction. This paper is concerned with those who experience dissatisfaction not as a result of individual personality problems but as a result of the impact of social change on contemporary marriage. On the whole, these people are emotionally mature even if they present, initially, with 'clinical' symptoms. The paper identifies the effect of social change on such couples and suggests an approach to marriage counselling designed specifically to meet their needs. Background material is provided by a study of 40 couples seen for marriage counselling in a psychiatric clinic.     

Creating Internships in Marriage and Family Therapy: A Collaboration Between a Training Program and an Offender Reentry Facility

The literature on clinical internships in marriage and family therapy is limited in the discussion of the development of clinical sites as well as the benefits and challenges experienced by students and programs. This article focuses on the development of a marriage and family therapy internship in an offender reentry facility. The process of how students are referred and trained, the rewards and challenges of their work, and the supervision experience are described. The purpose is to inform marriage and family therapy programs about a potential resource for training students.     

Epigenetic Model of Marital Expectations

The Epigenetic model of understanding marital expectations of Bhatti focuses on the domains of (a) expectations from the partner, (b) expectations from marriage, (c) expectations of and from the partner’s family of origin, (d) expectations of the institution of marriage, and (e) the concept of an “ideal partner,” and helps in understanding how martial expectations are influenced by various factors in the person’s life. The underlying assumption is that the spouses enter the marriage with expectations (on all the above mentioned domains), which are facts and exist at a conscious level in the social reality. These indicators further evolve, refine, and change across the span of the marriage. This model has formed the framework for marital therapy and other interventions. This paper highlights the application of this model in marital therapy with couples with marital dysfunction.     

Behavior Modification in Marital Conflict: A Case Report

The ability of marital partners to directly change an unhappy marriage to a happy one may be a function of each individual's conscious awareness of the topography, frequency, and other parameters of his own behavior, as well as his awareness of the consequences these behaviors have on his spouse. This paper reports an attempt to combine the use of relevant behavioral awareness and a token economy to rehabilitate a marriage in crisis. An initial two-month follow-up indicated, both from the data and the couples' subjective report, that the relationship was now much more reinforcing and both partners were satisfied with the marriage.     

Predictors of heavy drinking and drinking problems over the first 4 years of marriage.

This study investigated the factors predictive of heavy drinking and drinking problems over the early years of marriage, focusing on premarital drinking and the relatively stable individual risk and protective factors that were present prior to marriage and on social-interpersonal factors that may change or emerge over marriage. Newlywed couples were assessed at the time of marriage and at the 1st, 2nd, and 4th anniversaries with respect to frequency of heavy drinking and the extent of drinking problems and a variety of factors that have been found to be predictive of adult alcohol problems. The results indicated that antisocial characteristics, family history of alcoholism, negative affect, and alcohol expectancies were related to heavy drinking and alcohol problems at the time of marriage. Changes after marriage were predicted by the drinking of one's partner and of one's peers and by alcohol expectancies for social/physical pleasure for both men and women. In addition, the quality of the marriage was longitudinally protective from the experience of alcohol problems for both men and women, although it was not related to changes in heavy drinking.     

Changes in women's assertiveness in response to status and roles: a cross-temporal meta-analysis, 1931-1993

Across two meta-analyses, American women's assertiveness rose and fell with their social status from 1931 to 1993. College women and high school girls' self-reports on assertiveness and dominance scales increased from 1931 to 1945, decreased from 1946 to 1967, and increased from 1968 to 1993, explaining about 14% of the variance in the trait. Women's scores have increased enough that many recent samples show no sex differences in assertiveness. Correlations with social indicators (e.g., women's educational attainment, women's median age at first marriage) confirm that women's assertiveness varies with their status and roles. Social change is thus internalized in the form of a personality trait. Men's scores do not demonstrate a significant birth cohort effect overall. The results suggest that the changing sociocultural environment for women affected their personalities, most likely beginning in childhood.     

You must leave before you can cleave: A family systems approach to premarital pastoral work

We advocate the use of a family systems approach to premarital pastoral work, involving exploration of the families of origin of the intended spouses. Family systems theory argues that a marriage is like a merger of two corporations, each having its own stockholders; thus, adequate preparation for marriage involves coming to terms with the realities of one's family of origin and that of one's intended spouse. Exploratory techniques include genograms, house tours, family photo albums, and discussions of the rules and rituals in the respective families. Leaving father and mother is the central prerequisite to marriage.Dr. Mitchell is Professor of Pastoral Care and Theology, Eden Theological Seminary, 475 E. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, Missouri 63119. Dr. Anderson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Wartburg Theological Seminary, 333 Wartburg Place, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.     

Marriage Counseling: A Christian Approach to Counseling Couples

An approach to marriage counseling aimed at Christian couples is described. The theoretical bases of the approach are cognitive behavioral therapy and structural and strategic marital therapies. Techniques are drawn from various schools of marriage therapy. Shared Christian values between counselor and clients are used to promote increased marital commitment, marital satisfaction, and personal spiritual growth. Marital satisfaction might be increased through helping the couple increase their intimacy, enhance their communication, improve their conflict management, and forgive each other for past and present hurts.