The purpose of this study is to explore how people construct their intimate relationships, and to describe the patterns of connection and disconnection and their meanings within the social and cultural contexts of these relationships. It attempts to describe how the participating couples' relationships may or may not have changed due to the research process consisting of reflections and joint story telling, and the interventions of the researcher. Social constructionism is the epistemological framework of this study and indepth unstructured interviews with a cohabiting and a married couple were conducted. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The participants' stories were recounted through the researcher's lens in the form of themes characterising their relationships. A comparative analysis was undertaken between the common themes identified in the two participating couples and literature. The information gained could assist couples and professionals in respecting heterosexual intimate relationships in their specific contexts. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Religious and cultural discourses shape relationships/marriages. The constructed nature of relationships/marriages opens the possibility for alternative relational realities. Positioning relationships/marriages in alternative discourses assisted the couples to construct a preferred relationship narrative. Three couples embarked on this feminist participatory action research journey - a couple from the Jehovah's Witnesses tradition,' a couple from the Dutch Reformed Church and a couple from a Gay Refonned Church. Conversations with the participating couples deconstructed their relationships. It also enabled the couples to co-author alternative, preferred realities of their relationships/marriages and to provide rich descriptions of these. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

This study investigated some of the causes of marital pathology of Zulu couples. Through a questionnaire, the study investigated factors which affect Zulu marriages. It was found, according to thi~ research, that communication and infidelity by Zulu husbands are serious causes of marital pathology. The research also revealed that the historical and cultural nature of the Zulu marriage contributes to marital pathology. The second aim of the research was to investigate the marital therapy of Zulu couples. The question was whether marital therapy works among the Zulus, given the unwillingness of Zulu husbands to be counselled. The researcher found that Zulu husbands are resistant to being counselled. A therapeutic model was designed and used with two case examples. In both cases divorces were averted. This seems to indicate that marriage counselling can restore most of the Zulu marriages if husbands could cooperate in being counselled with their wives. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo analisar e identificar como se deu o processo de migração de mulheres brasileiras a Suíça, que vieram a casar-se com suíços e as repercussões desse casamento em suas vidas. Nesta perspectiva, foram considerados os aspectos relacionados às motivações para a migração e as dificuldades enfrentadas ao chegar; as circunstancias em que conheceram seus maridos; a adaptação ao país, à família do cônjuge e ao próprio casamento e, finalmente, os sentimentos experimentados e as necessidades sentidas. O trabalho está dividido em três artigos, sendo um teórico e dois empíricos. O primeiro apresenta um breve levantamento histórico sobre o casamento e as transformações que esta instituição vem sofrendo ao longo do tempo. O segundo artigo procura investigar as motivações da migração e como as participantes vieram a se casar. O terceiro artigo estuda o casamento intercultural, entre brasileiras e suíços, e as repercussões desse casamento em suas vidas. A metodologia é baseada na abordagem qualitativa. Foram entrevistadas doze mulheres que vivem na parte alemã da Suíça. A análise dos dados foi realizada a partir da Análise de Conteúdo Temática. Os resultados indicam que as motivações das participantes para a migração estão relacionadas à procura de melhores oportunidades de vida ou por terem se apaixonado por um suíço. Algumas se casaram para permanecer no país, outras por amor. Entretanto, de maneira geral, as dificuldades encontradas no casamento são semelhantes: dificuldades com o idioma, a mentalidade suíça, a criação dos filhos, a religião e com os familiares / This dissertation aims to analyze and identify the process of migration of Brazilian women to Switzerland who came to marry with Swiss men and the repercussions of this marriage in their lives. In this perspective were considered the aspects related to the motivations for the migration and the difficulties at the arrival; the circumstances at meeting their husbands; the adaptation to the country, to the family in law and to the marriage itself; and finally the feelings experienced and the needs felt. The research is divided into three articles, one theoretical and two empirical. The first one presents a brief historical uprising about marriage and the transformation this institution has been suffering a long time. The second article searches to investigate the motivations of the migration and how the participants came to marry. The third article studies the intercultural marriage between Brazilian women and Swiss men, and the repercussions of this marriage in their lives. The methodology was based in a qualitative approach. Twelve Brazilian women who are married with Swiss men and live in Switzerland in the German part were interviewed. The appreciation of the data was realized with Minayos Content Analysis. The results indicate that the motivations for the migration of the participants are related to the search of better life opportunities or for falling in love with a Swiss. Some married for staying in the country, other married because of love. Nevertheless, in general, the difficulties found in marriage were similar: difficulties with the language, swiss way of thinking, children education, religion and relatives

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:08:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_flavia_schuler.pdf: 2009258 bytes, checksum: 719de24091966f0f98157f8ff3b923ba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-06 / This dissertation aims to analyze and identify the process of migration of Brazilian women to Switzerland who came to marry with Swiss men and the repercussions of this marriage in their lives. In this perspective were considered the aspects related to the motivations for the migration and the difficulties at the arrival; the circumstances at meeting their husbands; the adaptation to the country, to the family in law and to the marriage itself; and finally the feelings experienced and the needs felt. The research is divided into three articles, one theoretical and two empirical. The first one presents a brief historical uprising about marriage and the transformation this institution has been suffering a long time. The second article searches to investigate the motivations of the migration and how the participants came to marry. The third article studies the intercultural marriage between Brazilian women and Swiss men, and the repercussions of this marriage in their lives. The methodology was based in a qualitative approach. Twelve Brazilian women who are married with Swiss men and live in Switzerland in the German part were interviewed. The appreciation of the data was realized with Minayo´s Content Analysis. The results indicate that the motivations for the migration of the participants are related to the search of better life opportunities or for falling in love with a Swiss. Some married for staying in the country, other married because of love. Nevertheless, in general, the difficulties found in marriage were similar: difficulties with the language, swiss way of thinking, children education, religion and relatives / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo analisar e identificar como se deu o processo de migração de mulheres brasileiras a Suíça, que vieram a casar-se com suíços e as repercussões desse casamento em suas vidas. Nesta perspectiva, foram considerados os aspectos relacionados às motivações para a migração e as dificuldades enfrentadas ao chegar; as circunstancias em que conheceram seus maridos; a adaptação ao país, à família do cônjuge e ao próprio casamento e, finalmente, os sentimentos experimentados e as necessidades sentidas. O trabalho está dividido em três artigos, sendo um teórico e dois empíricos. O primeiro apresenta um breve levantamento histórico sobre o casamento e as transformações que esta instituição vem sofrendo ao longo do tempo. O segundo artigo procura investigar as motivações da migração e como as participantes vieram a se casar. O terceiro artigo estuda o casamento intercultural, entre brasileiras e suíços, e as repercussões desse casamento em suas vidas. A metodologia é baseada na abordagem qualitativa. Foram entrevistadas doze mulheres que vivem na parte alemã da Suíça. A análise dos dados foi realizada a partir da Análise de Conteúdo Temática. Os resultados indicam que as motivações das participantes para a migração estão relacionadas à procura de melhores oportunidades de vida ou por terem se apaixonado por um suíço. Algumas se casaram para permanecer no país, outras por amor. Entretanto, de maneira geral, as dificuldades encontradas no casamento são semelhantes: dificuldades com o idioma, a mentalidade suíça, a criação dos filhos, a religião e com os familiares

Text in Afrikaans / In the light of two literature studies, the nature, origin and consequences of early perceptions of marriage, the form of identities and frames of reference, as well as the resultant origin of an internalized marriage have been explored. An empirical survey was undertaken, with the aid of a specially formulated questionnaire, to investigate the influence of early perceptions of marriage, and thus marriage expectations, on a person's own marriage. The research outcomes show that children do internalize aspects of their parents' marriage and transfer these to their own marriage. There seems to be an important similarity between pattern of communication and conflict management in the original family of questioned subjects and their marriage. Although some subjects have denied the influence of their original family on their marriage, there seems to be a transfer of patterns nevertheless. / Educational studies / M.Ed.(Voorligting)

Text in Afrikaans / In the light of two literature studies, the nature, origin and consequences of early perceptions of marriage, the form of identities and frames of reference, as well as the resultant origin of an internalized marriage have been explored. An empirical survey was undertaken, with the aid of a specially formulated questionnaire, to investigate the influence of early perceptions of marriage, and thus marriage expectations, on a person's own marriage. The research outcomes show that children do internalize aspects of their parents' marriage and transfer these to their own marriage. There seems to be an important similarity between pattern of communication and conflict management in the original family of questioned subjects and their marriage. Although some subjects have denied the influence of their original family on their marriage, there seems to be a transfer of patterns nevertheless. / Educational studies / M.Ed.(Voorligting)