Relational Interdependent Self construal, and Spiritual Maturity as Predictors of Marital Satisfaction
Year: 2012
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study examined the extent to which relationality is implicated in relationship satisfaction. Specifically, this study examined the role of two relational variables, Spiritual Maturity and Relational Interdependent Self Construal, in predicting the variance in marital satisfaction, after controlling for number of children, religion, employment status, education, length of marriage and household income among married heterosexual couples in Antigua. The Caribbean Island of Antigua is comprised primarily of persons of African descent, deeply religious, but who are influenced by western ideas and values. The results of this study reveal the importance of spirituality but not relational self- construal as a key predictor of marital satisfaction. That is, individuals who reported high scores in one of the subscales of the spiritual assessment inventory also reported high scores in marital satisfaction. Further, persons who reported high instability in their relationship with the divine had lower levels of marital satisfaction. In addition, gender and age were also found to be significant predictors of marital satisfaction in this study. The findings in this study will be of benefit to mental health professionals (a fairly new profession in Antigua), marriage officers, pastors and family life educators, as they deal with married and prospective couples in Antigua. The results of this study would suggest that there is utility to the notion of integrating relational spirituality in family therapy interventions in Antigua and other Caribbean countries. Further, marriage and family therapist should be aware of the importance of gender and cultures issues in their practice with married individuals in this region.
Author: Conroy Reynolds
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2277662182