Marital satisfaction and the impact of children in collectivist cultures: A meta-analysis

Dillon, Lisa M.; Beechler, Michelle Provenzano

doi:10.1556/jep.8.2010.1.3

Cited by 29 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…stage caused stress in the couple resulting in reduced sexual satisfaction (28). A meta-analytical study by Dillon and Beechler also reflected that the number of children had a negative effect on marital satisfaction (29). Evidence showed that marital satisfaction in middle-aged couples who had high level of nontangible supports from adult children was high (30).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation of Women’s Marital and Sexual Satisfaction in Different Family Life Cycle Stages in Khorram Abad, Iran

Fallah¹,

Naz²,

Ozgoli³

et al. 2018

International Journal of Women’s Health and Reproduction Scienc

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Introduction The family life cycle indicates the developmental processes of family members (1). Duvall classified family cycle into the following stages: beginning families (I), families who are first time childbearing (II), those who have preschool children (III), families with school children (IV), those with teenagers (V), families with their first child gone to last child's leaving home (VI), and families who have in the middle years (VII) (2). Meanwhile, Rollins and Feldman also believed that the couples' relationships were influenced by different stages of the family life cycle (3). Marital satisfaction was defined as the happiness on different aspects of marital relationship (4,5). Lawrance and Byers defined sexual satisfaction as "an effective response arising from one's subjective evaluation of the positive and negative dimensions associated with one's sexual relationship" (4). Researches showed different patterns for marital satisfaction of the couples in the stages of family life cycle. For example, Lupri and Frideres obtained a U-shaped pattern which meant a decrease in marital satisfaction in the middle stages of life (5); however, Spanier et al reported curvilinear as well as negative linear trends; no relationship was found at all in three different samples between marital satisfaction and the stages of family life cycle (6). According to some studies, sexual relationship is an important factor in marital satisfaction of the couples (7, 8). People usually judge about sexual satisfaction based on their marital satisfaction (9). Besides, it is believed that the concept of sexual satisfaction is intricately intertwined with marital satisfaction (10). Despite the existence of different patterns between marital satisfaction and stages of family life cycle, there already exist a correlation between sexual and marital satisfaction regardless of the stages of family life cycle (7,8,10-15).In addition, sexual

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation of Women’s Marital and Sexual Satisfaction in Different Family Life Cycle Stages in Khorram Abad, Iran

Fallah¹,

Naz²,

Ozgoli³

et al. 2018

International Journal of Women’s Health and Reproduction Scienc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A positive relationship has been observed between the number of children and marital satisfaction in countries with a weak social welfare, in which older children and adolescents are considered the main financial supporters of their family, especially in old age. In these countries, most families live with their extended members, and other family members help the mother raise their children (13,46). In the modern age, however, such arrangements are almost nonexistent in most communities, especially in urban ones.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation Between Number and Gender Composition of Children and Marital Satisfaction in Women Presenting to Health Centers in Tehran-Iran, 2015

Ghahremani

Doulabi

Eslami

et al. 2017

Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci

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Background: Marital satisfaction is defined as a mental state reflecting the pressures and benefits perceived by the couple in their life. Several factors seem to contribute to marital satisfaction and success including having children. Objectives: The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of the number and gender composition of children (having only sons, only daughters, and children of both genders) on marital satisfaction in women of childbearing age in Tehran. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 213 married females aged 15 to 45 years presenting to health centers in Tehran, Iran, in 2015. The demographic questionnaire, the ENRICH marital satisfaction scale, and a researcher-made childbearing questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and ANOVA in SPSS version 17. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results:The results of the present study revealed a significant correlation between the mean score of marital satisfaction and the number of children (P = 0.005); for instance, women's marital satisfaction reduced with an increase in the number of children. The results also revealed a greater marital satisfaction in women with children of the same gender than in those with children of both genders. Moreover, the mean score of marital satisfaction was significantly higher in women with only sons than in those with either only daughters or with children of both genders (P = 0.013). Conclusions: Women's marital satisfaction decreased with an increase in the number of children. Children's gender affected marital satisfaction. Women with only sons had a greater marital satisfaction than those women with only daughters, or with children of both genders.

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“…Despite the universal importance of positive relationships for our health and well-being [65] cross-cultural data on associations within what is associated with a satisfactory relationship is lacking. To date, a majority of research on the predictors of marital satisfaction has been largely examined within the Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) world [12,31,38,66] which leaves a gap in the literature related to the generalizability of previous findings on predictors of marital satisfaction.…”

Section: Methodology Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Models that aim to explain the impact of number of children on marital satisfaction include role conflict, restriction of freedom, sexual dissatisfaction, and financial costs associated with having children [37]. Furthermore, Dillon and Beechler [38] conducted a meta-analysis that aggregated the findings on the association between number of children and marital satisfaction in 15 collectivistic cultures, and they also found a negative correlation between these variables. In contrast, based on a sample of close to 7000 American respondents, Nelson and colleagues [39] found that couples with children reported higher levels of happiness, meaning of life, and positive emotions compared to those who did not have children.…”

Section: Number Of Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Perspective on Marital Satisfaction

et al. 2020

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Across the world, millions of couples get married each year. One of the strongest predictors of whether partners will remain in their relationship is their reported satisfaction. Marital satisfaction is commonly found to be a key predictor of both individual and relational well-being. Despite its importance in predicting relationship longevity, there are relatively few empirical research studies examining predictors of marital satisfaction outside of a Western context. To address this gap in the literature and complete the existing knowledge about global predictors of marital satisfaction, we used an open-access database of self-reported assessments of self-reported marital satisfaction with data from 7178 participants representing 33 different countries. The results showed that sex, age, religiosity, economic status, education, and cultural values were related, to various extents, to marital satisfaction across cultures. However, marriage duration, number of children, and gross domestic product (GDP) were not found to be predictors of marital satisfaction for countries represented in this sample. While 96% of the variance of marital satisfaction was attributed to individual factors, only 4% was associated with countries. Together, the results show that individual differences have a larger influence on marital satisfaction compared to the country of origin. Findings are discussed in terms of the advantages of conducting studies on large cross-cultural samples.

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Marital satisfaction and the impact of children in collectivist cultures: A meta-analysis

Cited by 29 publications

References 44 publications

Correlation of Women’s Marital and Sexual Satisfaction in Different Family Life Cycle Stages in Khorram Abad, Iran

Correlation of Women’s Marital and Sexual Satisfaction in Different Family Life Cycle Stages in Khorram Abad, Iran

Correlation Between Number and Gender Composition of Children and Marital Satisfaction in Women Presenting to Health Centers in Tehran-Iran, 2015

Global Perspective on Marital Satisfaction

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