O objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar a qualidade conjugal nos relacionamentos contemporâneos. Para tal, dois artigos foram elaborados. O primeiro apresenta uma revisão sistemática da literatura com o intuito de mapear o que é investigado como relevante a respeito das temáticas associadas à qualidade, ajustamento e satisfação conjugal. O segundo apresenta um estudo empírico com 1476 sujeitos, no qual investigou-se a associação entre as variáveis idade, tempo de duração da conjugalidade, presença ou não de filhos, salário pessoal mensal, percepção sobre a conjugalidade dos pais e a qualidade conjugal que vivenciam. Uma análise discriminante entre grupos de alta e baixa qualidade conjugal também foi realizada. Os resultados refletem a presença de múltiplos fatores que circunscrevem a qualidade conjugal dos participantes e que expressam a complexidade de investigar e compreender esse fenômeno. / The objective of this research was to investigate marital quality in contemporary relationships. To this, two articles were prepared. The first presents a systematic literature review in order to map what is investigated as relevant regarding issues associated with quality, adjustment and marital satisfaction. The second presents a study of 1476 participants in which we investigated the association between the variables age, duration of the marital relationship, presence of children, monthly personal income, perception of parental marital and marital quality that experience. A discriminant analysis between high and low marital quality groups was also realized. The results reflect the presence of multiple factors that circumscribe the marital quality and express the complexity of investigate and understand this phenomenon.

The U.S Army and support resource providers have become interested in the experiences of Army spouses during deployments. Previous research indicated that military spouses’ perceptions of support resources were integral in the usage of support services. However, little research has examined the combined effects of Army spouses’ opinions and perceptions regarding their sense of community and support resources available during multiple deployments. This quantitative study, based on the family stress theory, recorded the opinions of 174 Army Spouses using the Army Spouses’ Perception Survey and the Sense of Community Index 2. Predictor variables constituted sense of community opinions and support resources such as awareness, access, communication, and utilization. The criterion variable was Army spouses ’perception of support resources during multiple deployments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple hierarchical regressions. Analysis revealed a significant relationship between individual variables on the military and civilian sense of community index and the domain support resources applicable to assist during multiple deployments on a spouses’ perception of available support resources. The influence of Army spouses’ opinions significantly impacted how available resources were perceived and used during multiple deployments. These findings will provide empirical evidence to military and civilian leaders on Army spouses’ experiences of support resources. Such information may provoke changes that yield more consistent usage of support resources during multiple deployments, thereby promoting positive social change.

The health-promoting influence of high-quality, supportive close relationships has been extensively documented, yet the mechanisms of this effect are less well-understood. Leading researchers have galvanized the field to test particular relationship processes and the mediating psychological processes they facilitate to pinpoint how close relationships exert their salutary effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the intimacy process on health outcomes of sleep and pain and if this effect depends on the facilitation of psychological processes in a sample of veterans and spouses (collectively called military-connected couples; N=147). Sleep problems are highly prevalent among military-connected couples and pain is highly prevalent among veterans. Results of actor-partner interdependence models revealed that perceived partner responsiveness (PPR), a core component of the intimacy process, was found to predict sleep for military-connected couples and to predict pain for veterans. Indirect effects of PPR on sleep via the psychological process of downregulation of vigilance for military-connected couples emerged. The indirect effect of PPR on pain via the psychological process of emotion-regulation was found for veterans only. Partner effects were observed for veteran PPR on spouse positive affect. Overall, greater PPR was associated with positive health outcomes for military-connected couples. The implications of this study include further establishing the intimacy process as a particular mechanism by which close relationships promote health as well as providing insights for holistic interventions for sleep problems and pain in military-connected couples.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Cynthia Hoffner, committee chair; Mary Stuckey, Mchael Bruner, committee members. Electronic text (65 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Apr. 26, 2007; title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-59).

In the early modern world advice literature showed the family as a reflection of the state, a miniature kingdom in which the husband, as family head, acted much as a ruling monarch, with his wife, children and servants rendered his subjects. Although many seventeenth-century individuals chose to uphold traditional social conventions about proper behavior, not all family relationships fit the mold. Therefore, in an effort to uncover the experiences of seventeenth-century families, this thesis will focus on the relationships formed between spouses, parents and children, and siblings. It is on this small sampling of middling and upper class Scottish families, that we can see many common characteristics that were likely present in many early modern family relationships.

In the early modern world advice literature showed the family as a reflection of the state, a miniature kingdom in which the husband, as family head, acted much as a ruling monarch, with his wife, children and servants rendered his subjects. Although many seventeenth-century individuals chose to uphold traditional social conventions about proper behavior, not all family relationships fit the mold. Therefore, in an effort to uncover the experiences of seventeenth-century families, this thesis will focus on the relationships formed between spouses, parents and children, and siblings. It is on this small sampling of middling and upper class Scottish families, that we can see many common characteristics that were likely present in many early modern family relationships.

This paper explores the daily life of female Japanese spouses and the performance of their cultural citizenship under the constraints of the Taiwanese mainstream culture and social structure.. With in-depth interview of fifteen female Japanese spouses marrying Taiwanese men in Taiwan, and observation of two field sites where these spouses teach their children, this research finds that the ¡§cultural citizenship¡¨ of these Japanese spouses is not a static concept which marks the differences between Taiwanese and Japanese cultures, but a dynamic process that these Japanese spouses need to negotiate the daily Taiwanese cultures in everyday life, especially in the domain of language use and maternity performance.

The cross-Strait marriages have gradually been increasing since 1987 when the Taiwan government lifted the restrictions on its nationals to travel to China, either as tourist, or to visit their long lost relatives who are living in China. The growing number further increased when in 1992, the government allowed, with restrictions, the Taiwanese businessmen to invest in China. Henceforth, tourism, cultural, economic and social interactions, including intermarriages had an unprecedented increase. Likewise, on the same year, the government allowed Taiwanese men to marry Chinese women and has set out the rules allowing the Chinese spouses to settle down in Taiwan. The cross strait marriages are now considered a social phenomenon, especially when the number of Chinese spouses reached 198,031 in August 2004. They are now considered as one of Taiwan¡¦s minority groups that need special consideration from both the government and society. The Chinese spouses who are mostly women, come from different cultural, social and political environment, thus, are faced with more challenges and difficulty in phasing in, both in their domestic life and the Taiwan community, in general. It is in this context of this vulnerability, that Taiwan society should give preferential attention to the Chinese spouses. This study aims to explore the Chinese female spouses¡¦ family backgrounds, individual personalities, motives for marriage, ways of finding their partners, how they get oriented to Taiwan¡¦s way of life and how these new adaptations affect their life. In the light of these detailed information, the study seeks to further understand the Chinese female spouses¡¦ predicaments both in spiritual and material aspects, and surface their most urgent needs. This study also aims to provide a new perspective of the Chinese female spouses so that Taiwan society can be compassionate and overcome the existing prejudices against them. Further, a better understanding of the Chinese spouses¡¦ predicament would enable the government to draw up policies that will protect their rights and interests as ¡§genuine Taiwanese daughters-in-law.¡¨ The research approach of the study is qualitative and the researcher conducted in-depth interview among 20 Chinese female spouses who live in Taipei County and Taipei City. The conclusions of this study are as follows: I. The structure of Chinese spouse: A. The number of female spouse overwhelmingly outnumbers the number of male spouses. B. The pattern of cross-Strait marriages is that of an ¡§old husband marries a young wife¡¨. More than one-third of cross-strait marriages are second marriages. C. Most of these Chinese spouses are in manual labors or unemployed. D. The cross-Straits marriages are closely related to the cross-Straits businesses, which start from the eastern coast to middle China and goes westward to the inland. E. Most of the Chinese spouses live in big cities after they came to Taiwan and most of them reside in Taipei County and Taipei City. F. Taiwan spouses¡¦ educational backgrounds gradually became better than those of their Chinese female spouses. II. The Chinese women¡¦s motives for marrying Taiwanese men have gradually changed. Chinese women have changed the reasons to choose their partners from better economic standing to better or compatible personalities. The second consideration is whether there is love between the couple. The economic capability is now the last consideration for their marriages. III. The different ways of how they find their partners has a big influence on the Chinese female spouses¡¦ adjustment to Taiwan¡¦s lifestyle. Those who were free to choose their partners have better accommodation in Taiwan, and those who were arranged to know their husbands by their relatives or friends, were mostly disappointed. Some of them even felt they were deceived into marriage, thus they regretted their marriages and are driven to depressions. IV. The major and key factors that influence the Chinese female spouses¡¦ life adaptation in Taiwan are more of the legal issues, more specifically, their rights to residence, rights to status and rights to work. The other problems include: lack of support network or mechanisms in Taiwan society, the unequal treatment between men and women, and the social discrimination against them.

Foreign Spouses¡¦ Families on Parents¡¦ Rearing Attitude, Children¡¦s Life Adjustments and Creative Experiences Abstract This study investigated the relationship among parents¡¦ rearing attitude, their children¡¦s ¡§life adjustment¡¨ and ¡§creative experiences¡¨ in foreign spouses¡¦ families by analyzing data from questionnaire. A total of 820 participants from Kaohsiung municipal elementary school 5th and 6th grade students (337 students from foreign spouses¡¦ families and 483 from native families) were studied. Data collected by ¡§fathers¡¦ child-rearing scales¡¨, ¡§mothers¡¦ child-rearing scales¡¨, ¡§lifetime creative experiences scales¡¨ and ¡§children life adjustment scales¡¨ were analyzed with Pearson correlation analysis and one-way MANOVA methods. The results indicated: (1) A significant difference in children adjustments and creative experiences results from different parents¡¦ rearing attitudes. Major findings included: (i) The ¡§open-minded authoritative¡¨ parents rearing attitude results in best performance in children¡¦s ¡§life adjustment¡¨ whiles the ¡§neglecting indifferent¡¨ rearing attitude results in worst ¡§life adjustment¡¨. (ii) The ¡§open-minded authoritative¡¨ and ¡§permissive indulgent¡¨ parents rearing attitude results in better performance in children¡¦s ¡§creative experiences¡¨ than the ¡§neglecting indifferent¡¨ and ¡§authoritarian¡¨ rearing attitude ones. (2)Child-rearing attitudes of foreign spouses¡¦ families and native families are different. Native families tend to have ¡§open-minded authoritative¡¨ parenting attitudes while the foreign spouses¡¦ families are most likely to have ¡§neglecting indifferent¡¨ parenting attitudes. (3) The following are major factors considered contribute to parents¡¦ rearing attitude of foreign spouses¡¦ families at different degree: (i) Sex: The gender difference of children show significantly related with of parents¡¦ child-rearing attitude and their children¡¦s adjustment and creative experiences. (ii) Mothers¡¦ nationalities: The mothers¡¦ nationalities were significantly related with the fathers¡¦ child-rearing attitude. Mothers¡¦ nationalities are not significantly related with children¡¦s creative experiences. (iii) Grades: The grades of children are not significantly related with of parents¡¦ child-rearing attitude and their children¡¦s adjustment and creative experiences. (iv) Living status: Whether the children live together with their parents or not are not significantly related with the attitude styles of parents¡¦ child-rearing, and creative experiences. (4) Parents¡¦ rearing attitude and children¡¦s ¡§life adjustment¡¨ and ¡§creative experiences¡¨ are correlated. (5) There are significant differences in ¡§mothers¡¦ child-rearing attitudes¡¨ between foreign spouses¡¦ and native family. (6) There are no differences in life adjustment and creative experiences between the foreign spouses¡¦ families and native families.

In this study, the proposed model was tested and focused on Vietnamese spouses who which participate in the life adaptation and language study courses in Kaohsiung. 213 foreign spouses were asked to answer questionnaires and effective respondents were 187 sets. The complex data was collected and analyzed by One-way ANOVA, T-test, Pearson correlation analysis and multi-regression regression analysis with SPSS. This study is focused on two social psychological factors: marital expectation and gender role attitude, and discusses the relationship between these two variables and marital quality. The conclusions of this research summarize as following: ¤@¡BFor Vietnamese spouses, the length of time that acquainted before married is significant toward the economical expectations of marital expectations. ¤G¡BEducational degree is significant toward the gender role attitudes for Vietnamese spouses; the lower educational degree that Vietnamese spouses have, the higher traditional gender role attitudes they have. ¤T¡BThe methods Vietnamese spouses adopt in order to go to Taiwan are significant toward the familial roles, extrafamilial roles and stereotypes of male/female characteristics and behaviors of gender role attitudes. ¥|¡BThe marital expectations of the Vietnamese spouses are correlated with their marital quality. ¤­¡BThe gender role attitudes of the Vietnamese spouses are highly correlated with their marital quality. ¤»¡BThe reason that Vietnamese spouses getting married is falling in love, marital expectations, and gender role attitudes are positive predict variables towards marital quality. ¤C¡BThe familial roles of gender role attitudes, and getting married by falling in love are also positive predict variables towards value consensus, interaction of spouses, marital happiness, and marital stability of marital quality. Base on the conclusions from this study and suggestions for spouses of transnational marriages, administration and guidance system of government and further studies.