What Keeps Dissatisfied People in Marriage?

Abstract

<p>Marital satisfaction and stability in course of couple relationship has been the topic of interest in many studies. Some of couples are dissatisfied with their marriage and they end in divorce. Dissatisfying marriages are not always ended. In order to find better understanding on the reasons behind the formation, continuous and end of relationship, social exchange theory is usually utilized. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that caused dissatisfied married individuals to hold their relationship together. This study was a qualitative study that used semi-structured deep interview. 12 married individuals were selected by purposeful sampling. Data analysis addressed the content of marriage functions among Iranian married individual with low marital satisfaction. 6 main themes and 20 subthemes were emerged from the data. These main themes revealed marriage functions of psychological, child- related, value- related, sex, social, and economic which made participants hold their marriage together.<strong> </strong>It was explained in the discussion part of the study that how some of basic components of social exchange theory differ between our participants in the current study. </p>

Quid Pro Quo in Social Exchange Theory

“…Although the couples reported being dissatisfied in their relationship, they reported staying for companionship and sexual needs, both considered attractions and rewards. Partners also reported staying for reasons of religious obligations, social obligations, childrearing, and financial dependencyall barriers or costs of leaving (Esmaeeli et al 2016). These findings are consistent with the Caryl Rusbult's (1980) investment model, whereby the quantity and value of investments in the relationship impact the relationship stability.…”

“…A partner's relationship satisfaction is dependent on his/her evaluation of the rewards, such as love, respect, and sexual intimacy provided by the other partner, and the costs of maintaining the relationship, such as time, money, and attention. Also pertinent to the costbenefit analysis are the costs associated with leaving the relationship, such as financial ramifications, loss of moral standing in the local community, and legal reasons as well as the rewards associated with leaving the relationship, such as sexual gratification, attention, and financial resources (Esmaeeli et al 2016;Karney and Bradbury 1995;Levinger 1976).…”

“…At the most basic level, one might predict that any dissatisfied partner would file for divorce since the relationship is no longer "profitable" in traditional economic terms, but obviously this is not the case (Esmaeeli et al 2016;Homans 1958). Many dissatisfied partners decide to remain in their marriage, but why?…”

“…Many dissatisfied partners decide to remain in their marriage, but why? Esmaeeli et al (2016) conducted a qualitative study to address this question. The findings suggested that dissatisfied couples stay together for reasons of attractiveness (rewards) and barriers (costs).…”

Depois do casamento a gente dá uma segurada: um estudo qualitativo sobre o papel das uniões e dos filhos no comportamento de saúde masculino

“…Ressalta-se que a técnica de entrevista em profundidade permite o aprofundamento das investigações e a combinação de histórias de vida e contextos sócio-históricos, possibilitando a compreensão de motivações que produzem transformações nas crenças e valores que motivam e justificam o comportamento dos informantes (Muylaert et al, 2014). As entrevistas em profundidade consistem ainda em uma técnica amplamente utilizada em estudos exploratórios no campo de saúde pública e saúde coletiva (Machin et al, 2011;Piovesan e Temporini, 1995) e processos de formação de família (Esmaeeli et al, 2016;González et al, 1999).…”