Research shows that the initial honeymoon phase of a marriage dissolves
after some time and differences between the couple begin to hamper the
harmony in the relationship. One of these differences is that attributed to gender.
This study attempts to study these phases of the relationship. It approaches this
issue from an inductive standpoint to counterbalance the deductive quality that
pervades most literature in this field.
A mixed qualitative and quantitative design was selected in a multiple
case study format. An open style interview preceded and followed a Q-sorting
exercise. Ten individuals (five couples) who have been married between five and
ten years were studied. For several reasons, including the need to widen the
cultural base of the research field, the study was conducted in Malta, a
Mediterranean culture. The information provided by each participant (called coresearcher
here to indicate the empowerment accorded to them in the research),
was organized by re-casting it into a narrative form. The accuracy of the
narrative was additionally validated by the respective co-researcher and an
independent reviewer.
The purpose was to construct individual and common stories of the
marriage f r om the perspective of difference and harmony. Comparisons between
individuals and gender revealed common factors, indicating the generic path of
these relationships, and individual factors based on previous history, personality,
gender and culture Individual life thanes, the dialectic pattern of relating, and
phases i n the relationships were identified. Finally, the results were compared to
previous research on love, relational development, gender differences, and
attachment. The model of the dialectic was found to be a useful tool for
understanding relationships and integrating research. Finally, the implications
of this study on counselling, and possibilities for further research were discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/2923 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Scicluna-Calleja, Alexandra |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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