Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
The relationship satisfaction of heterosexual couples in one low-income, semi-rural Western Cape community
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Effective interventions are hindered by a lack of context-specific data on how South African men and women construct and experience intimate heterosexual relationships. Most studies exploring committed heterosexual relationships have been conducted with White populations living i...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
2009
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Effective interventions are hindered by a lack of context-specific data on how South African men and
women construct and experience intimate heterosexual relationships. Most studies exploring committed
heterosexual relationships have been conducted with White populations living in developed countries.
As relationship satisfaction is seen as a requirement for a good quality relationship, this study examined
the relationship satisfaction of committed heterosexual couples in one low-income, semi-rural Western
Cape community. A cross-sectional survey approach was used to examine relationship satisfaction
among heterosexual married and unmarried couples. A random sample of 100 couples was drawn from
the community, 93 of which were included in the final analyses, on the criterion that both partners were
interviewed. Trained fieldworkers administered a demographic and relationship questionnaire, as well
as three relationship satisfaction measures namely the Dyadic Satisfaction subscale of the Dyadic
Adjustment Scale, the Index of Marital Satisfaction and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale.
Analyses were conducted using the statistical programme Statistica 7.0 and both descriptive and
inferential statistics were computed separately for men and women. Inferential statistics included
Spearman correlations, repeated measures ANOVA, and reliability analyses.
Results show that although, on average, neither men nor women were clinically dissatisfied with their
relationships, women reported significantly lower relationship satisfaction than men. Significant
relationships were found between relationship satisfaction and a number of demographic variables,
including the male partner’s educational attainment (with the female partner’s relationship
satisfaction); female partner’s perception of her male partner’s religiosity (with both her own and her
male partner’s relationship satisfaction); own church attendance (with own relationship satisfaction),
female partner’s church attendance (with her male partner’s relationship satisfaction), and joint church
attendance (with both female and male relationship satisfaction); sharing a bedroom at night with
children, sharing a bed at night with children, and sharing a bed at night with partner. Demographic
variables found to have a non-significant relationship with relationship satisfaction included: age;
church affiliation; employment; and couple monthly income.
Although there were several trends that tended towards significance, the only relationship variables
found to be significantly related to relationship satisfaction were previous marriages and, for cohabiting
couples, the age at commencement of cohabitation. Relationship variables found to have a nonsignificant
relationship with relationship satisfaction included: relationship status; relationship
duration; age at marriage for married couples; reason for marriage (for married couples) or for marriage in the future (for unmarried couples); number of significant relationships; and a number of childrenrelated
variables. Results are discussed and recommendations are made for future research. |
|---|