Project thesis (D.Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-173).

Project thesis (D.Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-173).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1988. / Includes indexes. This is an electronic reproduction of TREN, #036-0059. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 329-353).

Project thesis (D.Min.)--Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-173).

Project (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-129).

Francisco- La Grange, F.H., Prof. / Despite the high divorce rate in South Africa marriage is still a sought after social institution and many potential couples have high expectations upon entering marriage. The continuation of marriage rather than its breakdown awakes the special interest of the candidate. She reasons that marital satisfaction is a significant determinant in the continuation of a marriage and she is keen to identify some indicators of marital satisfaction. She furthermore envisages strategies in social work intervention by means of which the public could be sensitized to marital satisfaction. Methodology In this essay research is in essence explorative, particularly in the sense that it is an attempt to initiate a new conseptualization of a phenomenon. The following methodology was used: A literature study exploring the nature of the marriage relationship; characteristics which indicate marital satisfaction and the philosophy and methodology of research. Consultation with specialists in the field of marital relationships and marriage counselling. The research enabled the candidate to identify the following indicators: Constructive communication between the spouses. Skilled handling of conflict. Characteristics of the spouses. A relatively compatible value system. Sexual fulfilment. Socio-economic security. Premarital factors. The influence of children.

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the immediate effects, if any, on marital adjustment of a marital enrichment program entitled Marital Skills Training. Program (MSTP); (2) to determine the residual effects, if any, on marital adjustment after MSTP had been terminated; and (3) to determine the differences, if any, in the effect on marital adjustment of an on-going group and extended session group using MSTP. Measures of marital communication and marital adjustment served as the dependent variables while the MSTP training served as the independent variable. Instruments used for data collection were the Marital Adjustment Test (Short Form), the Primary Communication Inventory, and the Semantic Differential. The study concluded that teaching marital communication skills in a conjoint couples' group in an on-going setting is an effective way to increase marital adjustment. However, the passage of time appears to be a necessary factor in integrating MSTP into behaviors which affect marital adjustment since the significant increase did not appear until five weeks following training and was found to exist only in the On-going training group.

The problem of this study was the negative or positive effects of a partially structured Christian marriage enrichment weekend upon marital communication, marital adjustment, and purpose in life. The results indicated that on all four tests both groups improved significantly over a two-month period but not over a one-week period. The general conclusions to be drawn are two-fold. First, a partially structured Christian marriage enrichment weekend, namely Enjoying Marriage, will probably help a couple improve in communication, adjustment, and purpose in life. Second, only on adjustment and purpose in life can one say that such improvement is based specifically upon the content of the weekend. The reason for this is that a weekend retreat group who received no treatment on marriage also improved in communication and on one specific type of marital adjustment as measured by the Polyfactor Sentence Completion Survey.

This investigation seeks to determine the correlations among the three factors of self-esteem, marital communication and marital adjustment to determine if these factors are evidenced similarly in the marital system, and to determine if their relationships are consistent among a wide range of marriages. In addition, several demographic variables are isolated in order to determine their influence on the three factors under investigation. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that marital adjustment is dependent on married individuals' level of self-esteem and the ability to communicate effectively. It was also concluded that when there is a high level of either self-esteem, marital communiation, or marital adjustment, the other factors will also be at a high level. In addition, the consistency of the relationships among marital adjustment, marital communication, and self-esteem apparently transcend demographic factors.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work