Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-118).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2001. / Leaves 96-101 (Appendices F and G) and 145-147 (Appendices CC and DD) are blank except for titles. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-186). Also available on microfiche.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed May 23, 2007). PDF text: iii, 163 p. ; 1.09Mb UMI publication number: AAT 3237487. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Little is known about how marital sexual interaction influences eventual marital disruption, despite research in various disciplines examining the sex lives of the married. This relatively unexplored area compels sociological inquiry, since most Americans will marry, yet about 44 percent of all marriages are expected to end in divorce. Surprisingly, no one has posed the question: Does frequent, satisfying, and agreeable marital sexual interaction help to sustain a marriage? Further, do these indicators work separately or together to influence marital disruption? With panel data from the Marriage Matters Panel Survey of Newlywed Couples, 1998 - 2004, I utilize these three indicators (frequency, satisfaction, and agreement) to assess this question, as well as how the indicators of marital sexuality influence each other. The results provide evidence that the influence of marital sexuality on marital disruption is limited. However, interesting gender nuances appear and indicate that husband's satisfaction with physical intimacy early in marriage has a consistent positive effect on whether or not the couple will experience a marital disruption.

M.A. (Counseling Psychology) / Due to considerable changes in modern society, marriage is exposed to a large amount of stress and has become a vulnerable institution. In spite of the high divorce rate, marriage is still viewed as an important institution; still meets important emotional needs and consequently gives rise to high expectations with regard to personal satisfaction. The marriage counselor has a lot to offer in this regard. In this metamodel, marital counseling is seen as an umbrella concept for counseling, marital preparation, pre-marital and marital therapy and divorce counseling. Since the early 1980’s psychotherapy has been characterized by a rapidly developing movement toward integration and eclecticism. Such integration refer to a conceptual or theoretical creation beyond a blending of techniques. With all the diversity in systems of counseling, it became a challenge to integrate existing approaches of counseling. The same trend is found in the field of marital counselling.

D.Phil. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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Includes bibliographic references. / This research develops a pro-poor prenuptial agreement as an innovative land tenure tool to secure rights in urban subsidized housing. The model tested is confined to prenuptial agreements under the Marriage Act, but is relevant to other cohabitation or marital agreements that could be used to secure social tenure arising from intimate relationships. The model aims at securing the tenure of the entire household, in particular the more vulnerable members of the household. The research focuses on urban State -subsidized housing, with an emphasis on the Western Cape, South Africa. This housing is transferred to beneficiaries by registration of individual or co-ownership at the Deeds Registry, with the title deeds public documents. While prenuptial agreements are not usually regarded as a land tenure tool, the fact that they are also public documents registered at the Deeds Office makes them pertinent. A limited dataset of recent academic writing is analysed to identify the social context of household conflict and tenure insecurity, and existing legal template clauses assessed. The prenuptial template design is predicated on current tenure approaches that regard informal practices as equally relevant for the poor's tenure security as the formal law. The template uses various strategies to manage tenure insecurity arising from the death of an owner, disputes, or threatened eviction of dependents. It also aims to ensure that diverse normative beliefs are respected, particularly African normative systems. A personal servitude is used to secure housing tenure as a real right burdening the land, making this a very secure right. In addition the template includes a succession agreement and dispute resolution mechanisms. The template model is tested on clients simulated by re-storying the facts of two seminal Constitutional Court cases and a recent case study of another researcher. Focus groups are held with housing beneficiaries and interviews with housing officials, as a preliminary test of the private and public reception of such agreements. The need for legal aid is discussed. The research makes clear that cohabitation and marital agreements can be used to secure overlapping land rights that the ownership paradigm does not currently protect.

This exploratory research responds to two primary questions: 1) what is marital conflict and, 2) does it transform newlywed relationships? Using three-wave panel data collected with the purpose of studying the participants of the Covenant Marriage Act in Louisiana, it examines the nature and effects of conflict on newlywed couples over the first five years of marriage. While the analysis contained in this dissertation answers the research questions, it also presents more questions than it answers. This research examines six major themes regarding 1)the nature of marital conflict among these couples, 2) what couples disagree about, 3) how do couples behave when conflict is present, including managing thoughts of divorce, 4) how does conflict change over time, 5) how does conflict experienced in the family of origin manifest in current marriages, and 6) what effect does religiosity have on conflict? Findings support the conventional wisdom in marriage that conflict increases over time, and marital quality decreases over time. In addition, findings show that by wave three sex is the number one topic of disagreement, and that it had the largest increase over time.