Couples

Objective: An increase in post-marital relationships has had adverse consequences. One of the consequences is family dissolution and the breakdown of social units (families). The present study aimed to study the processes and contextual factors of marital infidelity.
Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using the grounded theory method. The research population included couples who experienced marital infidelity. A total of 32 participants were selected using the purposive sampling method in 2019. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the participants to collect the study data, and the interviews continued until the data saturation. The collected data were systematically analyzed in three stages of open, axial, and selective coding.
Results: Analysis of the data collected revealed 51 codes extracted through open coding. Then, the extracted codes were merged into 10 categories via axial coding. These categories included four themes: the formation of the context of marital infidelity, predictions of marital infidelity, engaging in marital infidelity, and the consequences of marital infidelity.
Conclusion: Given that marital infidelity is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, the insights from this study can be used to develop models to identify and prevent predictors of marital infidelity.

Emma is a novel written by Jane Austen, which is based on real-life situations of the eighteenth century England. Austen depicts her novels to show clearly the customs and traditions that people had to use in order to get married; her dissatisfaction towards all these conditions; male dominance and also the consideration of women as weak human beings with limited rights. Based on all these issues, Austen chooses different kinds of marriages, mainly based on economical interest. Most of the people in her novels see the marriage as an obligation which had to be fulfilled; most of the girls got involved into a marriage market where parents decided what was good or bad for them. This paper describes the conditions of unmarried and married women Emma; the ways how the unmarried women chose the partners; the ways how Austen compared the conditions of women with the real life situations of the eighteenth century Britain; how she used irony to show her dissatisfaction towards the traditions of that time, and also the real message she conveys to the world.

The purpose of the present study was to replicate the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study framework, using relationship outcomes, and studied within the context of couple relationships. A thorough review of the literature on trauma, its prevalence, prior studies on ACEs, trauma and couples, and partner selection is presented. A secondary data analysis of 146 couples from a clinical source was used to test the present study’s hypotheses. Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to test the hypothesis that an individual’s ACE exposure history would be negatively related to both their own and their partner’s reported relationship quality. A cluster analysis was used to test the hypothesis that couples could be statistically grouped by ACE score combinations, and an ANOVA was used to test average group differences on relationship quality. Regression analyses were used to test hypotheses about partner selection. Results from the analysis include: (1) a small but significant negative impact of an individual’s ACEs on their own reported relationship quality, but no finding of a significant impact on their partner’s reported relationship quality; (2) a small but significant relationship between partner ACE scores; (3) a preliminary ability to group couples by ACE score combinations into three clusters (Low-Low, High-Moderate, Moderate-High) and a small but significant difference between two of the clusters; (4) an increased likelihood that couples will be partnered with those who have more similar than different ACE scores, and a significant trend that as ACEs increase, the likelihood of being partnered with someone who has similar ACEs will decrease; (5) a small but significant dose-response relationship between increasing ACEs and the likelihood of being partnered with someone who has more than minimal ACEs. Further discussion of the results, implications, limitations of the study, and future research directions are also included.

We examined trait emotional intelligence (EI), conflict communication patterns, and relationship satis- faction in cohabiting heterosexual couples. Participants were 82 couples (N = 164) who completed the TEI- Que – Short Form (Petrides & Furnham, 2006), the Communication Patterns Questionnaire (Christensen & Sullaway, 1984), and the Perceived Relationship Quality Components (PRQC) Inventory (Fletcher, Simp- son, & Thomas, 2000). The most satisfied couples were those who did not avoid discussion of relationship problems and who rated their partners high in EI. Satisfied couples were more likely than dissatisfied cou- ples to perceive themselves as having levels of EI similar to their partner. We also examined whether actor or partner effects, or a combination of the two, best predicted relationship satisfaction and found that actor variables were the only significant predictors. These results are discussed with reference to the importance of EI and communication patterns in relationship satisfaction.

Marriage is a very important union between a man and women. There are several factors that can affect quality of marital relationship. The present paper attempts to explore various psychological and social factors that can impact marital relationship.Present paper is based on review method for which more than 30 research papers and articles were reviewed. Several psychological and social factors were identified through present analysis that impacts the quality of marital relationship among couples.

Résumé

Les tentatives de grossesses infructueuses sont nombreuses. On estime que 2 à 6 % des couples restent dans les pays occidentaux sans enfant sans le désirer à la fin de leur vie reproductive, et qu’un nombre important d’entre eux n’arrivent pas à avoir le nombre d’enfants désirés. Les difficultés rencontrées par les couples pour avoir un (nouvel) enfant peuvent, quelle que soit l’issue de l’attente (naissance ou non), avoir des répercussions au niveau individuel (angoisse, déprime, etc.) mais aussi au niveau du couple (conflits, rupture, renforcement des liens, etc.).

À partir des données des trois vagues de l’enquête française ERFI (Enquête sur les Relations Familiales et Intergénérationnelles) de 2005, 2008 et 2011, cet article propose une description de la situation féconde des individus en couple fertile en 2005 et des répercussions de l’infertilité sur le bien-être des personnes et des couples dans les six ans. Il montre notamment que si un quart des couples dont la femme est enceinte en 2005 ont exprimé avoir éprouvé des difficultés à obtenir cette grossesse, cette proportion passe à plus d’un couple sur deux chez ceux recherchant une grossesse. L’infertilité paraît par ailleurs plus fréquemment affecter émotionnellement les femmes que les hommes. Enfin, les difficultés pour obtenir une grossesse et/ou le recours à la PMA ne fragilisent pas les liens du couple, rejoignant les conclusions de la plupart des études quantitatives occidentales.

Background: Long-term marital satisfaction depends on various factors in couples’ lives. Shared
interests, beliefs, and goals can guarantee couples’ long and satisfying relationships. However,
mate selection is one of the primary requirements for establishing a marital relationship in both
modern and traditional societies. Based on the narratives of couples, the present study aimed to
explore the role of mate selection in marital satisfaction.
Methods: This study employed a qualitative narrative research design. The participants
were couples who lived together at least for 10 years, were satisfied with their married life,
and had children. They were selected through the purposive sampling method from the family
entertainment centers of health houses affiliated with Qom Municipality, in 2019. The data
were generated using in-depth in-person interviews. After interviewing 13 couples, theoretical
saturation was obtained. The data were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed manually using the
textual analytic approach.
Results: The analysis of the participants’ narratives showed that the couples believed that four
main themes, including spouse personality traits, shared religious beliefs, shared socioeconomic
positions, and mutual respect and understanding affected their marital satisfaction.
Conclusion: The couples who were satisfied with their marriage believed that realistic and
correct mate selection played a vital role in the survival and stability of their marital life. It
is very important to pay attention to the role and conditions of mate selection and its impact
on the stability of marriage. Results from this study help counselors, couples’ therapists,
mental health professionals, psychiatric nurses, and midwifery consultants prepare couples
for premarital programs.

Dating is a phase in courtship. It's not easy, but it is said to be a rather memorable experience. Lots of written work has already been published regarding the Do's and Don'ts of dating, whether from psychologists with the highest academic degrees, or from writers who simply know the ways of dating. It makes you wonder though, of all the tips, which one does work anyway? And which one doesn't? This article is my own take to the hundreds of tips that I have read on dating.

Recently, social scientists’ investigations of couples have emphasised historical changes like the growing idealisation of romantic love, greater personal autonomy in relationships, and the rising significance of distance and divorce. Much of this discussion—particularly Eva Illouz’s theorisation of ‘cold intimacies’—centres on the idea that obligation and commitment are losing out to individualised relationships and short-term pleasure. The growing prevalence of age-dissimilar couples is seen as reflecting this shift. In interviews with age-dissimilar couples in Australia, however, I found that, alongside fulfilment and free choice, commitment and obligation are enduring themes in people’s accounts of their personal lives. Here I explore how these couples’ talk about the beginnings and ends of their relationships reflects a dual logic: that love should be lasting and fulfilling.

This study simultaneously examines everyday negative and positive experiences that affect persons either outside of the intimate relationship (extra-dyadic) or within (intra-dyadic). In addition, we investigate whether the partner’s responses to each of these experiences mediate the link between experience and relationship outcomes. Altogether, 447 individuals that were currently in a relationship, filled out an online questionnaire. Self-report measures included extra- and intra-dyadic everyday experiences of negative and positive events as well as corresponding partner responses and relationship satisfaction. Multi-group path analyses revealed that both negative and positive extra-dyadic experiences affect negative and positive intra-dyadic experiences of women, whereas the effects of positive extra-dyadic experiences had mixed effects for men. Furthermore, the perceived partner responses in each of the four experiences were found to be an important predictor with one exception for men’s intra-dyadic positive experiences.

Background: Psychological well-being in couples can improve marital affairs and the mental health
of the couples.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to predict psychological well-being based on marital
intimacy, resiliency, and the mental health of couples.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 150 couples
referring to the counseling centers in districts 1 and 2 of Tehran between Feb and May 2019
selected by the convenience sampling. The subjects were tested using the psychological well-being
scale, resilience scale, general health questionnaire, and marital intimacy. Data were analyzed by
the Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis using SPSS V. 22 software.
Results: The results showed a positive correlation between psychological well-being and marital
intimacy (r= 0.47, P<0.0001), whereas there was a negative correlation between psychological
well-being and the mental health components (P<0.0001). Also, the results of the regression model
showed that marital intimacy, resilience, and mental health were able to predict psychological
well-being (P<0.0001).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that by increasing the components of psychological well-being,
marital intimacy and resilience increase, whereas by an increase in psychological well-being,
mental health problems decrease.

Receiving a constructive, supportive response from romantic partners after sharing good news has been shown to magnify the positivity of events and predict healthy relationship outcomes. We conducted a laboratory social interaction to determine whether supportive responses to success led to changes in facial expressions, sympathetic arousal, and felt emotions. Our methodology allowed us to break down the sequence of capitalization support. In 69 romantic couples, we recorded emotional processing before, during, and after the task in both partners. Person A received performance feedback on a computer task and shared their success via text messages with Person B, who then reacted to this success. Supportive capitalization responses led to greater felt positive emotions and a trend for fewer negative emotions; effects were similar for givers and receivers of supportive responses. Facial expressions were also happier for people receiving supportive capitalization responses. Results suggest the importance of addressing the giving and receiving of capitalization support within the same social situation.

Interpretations of living apart together (LAT) have typically counter-posed ‘new family form’ versus
‘continuist’ perspectives. Recent surveys, however, construct LAT as a heterogeneous category
that supports a ‘qualified continuist’ position – most people live apart as a response to practical
circumstances or as a modern version of ‘boy/girlfriend’, although a minority represents something
new in preferring to live apart more permanently. This article interrogates this conclusion by
examining in depth why people live apart together, using a nationally representative survey from
Britain and interview accounts from 2011. Our analysis shows that LAT as a category contains
different sorts of relationship, with different needs and desires. While overall coupledom remains
pivotal and cohabitation remains the goal for most, LAT allows people flexibility and room to
manoeuvre in adapting couple intimacy to the demands of contemporary life. Hence, we suggest,
LAT is both ‘new’ and a ‘continuation’.

Religion and spirituality have long played important rolesin the lives of couples and families within North Ameri-can society. Gallup surveys repeatedly verify the relevance of religion in the lives of American men and women, noting that more than two thirds identified religion as a significant part of their lives; 94 % believe in God or a higher power (Gallup, 1993). In reviewing half a century of U.S. surveys, Gallup concluded that religious beliefs of the country could be con-sidered quite stable inasmuch as these basic beliefs and prac-tices today differ little from the levels recorded 50 years ago (Gallup, 1995). Sirch-Stasko (1996) notes that religion and spirituality are recognized as integral parts of human lives. He believes that this warrants greater exploration of the role this dynamic plays in facilitating and maintaining mental health.

The objective of this dissertation study was to investigate the lived experiences of intimacy in married couples in India. The researcher specifically explored the couples’ intimacy experiences in six dimensions: emotional closeness and self-disclosure, shared ideas and support, sexual intimacy, relationship skills, commitment and social intimacy. The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), an innovative method of data collection was used to collect pictures as metaphors from 11 couples (N=22) and the researcher conducted 45-90 minutes in-depth phone interviews. Phenomenological approach was used for data analysis and five themes (description, positive and negative experiences, barriers and strategies used, changes over time and perceived societal norms) provided information on the six dimensions of intimacy. The findings confirmed that intimacy is experienced in married Indian couples in each of the above mentioned dimensions. In addition, when intimacy is experienced they a...

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (MBCT) and acceptance-commitment therapy (ACT) on the fear of negative evaluation and anxiety in couples visiting counseling centers in Ilam.

Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all couples referring to Navid, Aramesh, Family (affiliated to the Minisrty of Education), Soroush, and Welfare counseling centers in Ilam, Iran, during 1397. In total, 30 couples were selected using the avaliable sampling method, and they were randomly divided into three groups. The data were collected using the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale and Anxiety Questionnaire. Subsequently, the obtained data were analysed in SPSS software (version 22).

Findings: The results showed a significant difference among the MBCT, ACT, and control groups in terms of a decrease in the fear of negative evaluation and anxiety level of the couples. However, no significant difference was observed between the two treatment methods in terms of the effects on reducing fear and anxiety levels.

Discussions & Conclusions: The MCBT and ACT had effects on reducing the fear of negative evaluation and anxiety levels. However, there is no significant difference between the two treatment methods in this regard.

Whereas language and gender studies’ explorations of couples’ talk have tended
to focus on collaborative versus competitive conversational style, social psychological
work on couples’ intimate relationships has long been driven by an
interest in expressions of affection. This paper aims to show that linguistic discourse
analysis can make a significant contribution to our understanding of how
affection is expressed in intimate relationships. The paper focuses on the playful
switching of frames, voices, codes and personas which emerges as central to the
affectionate practice in the spontaneous talk of a young multicultural London
couple. It argues that quantitative interview studies based on an a priori understanding
of affection are unable to capture many of the idiosyncratic and creative
ways in which speakers express their affection for one another in their
intimate talk.

We have obligations to the people we love. Doubtless, when we are in loving relationships, we do things that we should do for our loved ones. We make this clear with statements like, “I did it because I love her” or thoughts like “because I love her, I should attend her conference.” But what grounds our obligations to our lovers and friends? In “Love as Valuing a Relationship,” Niko Kolodny provides an account of love where love amounts to our valuing our beloveds and relationship to them. However, Kolodny’s relationship account does not tell us all that we would reasonably expect it to. It does not explain how valuing our relationships in the right way relates to our action in loving relationships—particularly, how this valuing explains our acting in accordance with some obligations that we have to our loved ones. In this paper, I suggest that in addition to the idea that loving relationships are ongoing, historical, and with particular people, that loving relationships are also contractual. This addition is important because it can explain why we have obligations to our lovers, our attitudes when we are betrayed by our loved ones, and widely held notions of what our relationships involve.

Outre les éléments thèmatiques et symboliques chers à Susanne Bier et déjà présents dans The One and Only (1999) et dans Open Hearts (2002), Brothers traite plus particulièrement de la difficile réinsertion sociale d'un soldat en proie au syndrome de stress post-traumatique.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of emotional empathy and Successful Intelligence on marital satisfaction with Considering the moderating role of age. The study population consisted of all couples living in the city of Qom in May 1397. 165 people were selected by the Convenience method as a sample group and responded to Inrich's Marital Satisfaction Inventory (1989), the affective empathy scale of Mehrabian and Epstein (1972), and the Grigorenko and Sternberg intelligence scale (2002). The results showed that successful intelligence has a positive and significant relationship with marital satisfaction.Among the dimensions of successful intelligence, only practical intelligence has a positive and significant relationship with marital satisfaction.Regression analysis also showed that successful intelligence has the ability to predict marital satisfaction. But emotional empathy did not show a significant relationship with marital satisfaction. Also, examining the mediating role of age, the findings showed that age does not moderate the relationship between successful intelligence and marital satisfaction. According to the findings of the research, it is suggested that in order to increase the marital satisfaction of couples, in education, emphasis should be placed on the beliefs of the components of successful intelligence that increase the satisfaction of the marital life.

Sexual health is a widespread concern for intimate partners. As couples transition to marriage, it is vitally important to explore issues related to sexual health. Moreover, premarital counselors are encouraged to facilitate a sexual health discussion with premarital couples. This article presents the importance of raising the topic of sexual health in the context of premarital counseling. Issues of disclosure and safety are also explored.

Background and Objective: The undesirable and destructive effects of stress on the lives of many couples are grounds for marital burnout and consequently, the quality of the couple’s marital relationship is affected. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training on reducing couple burnout among women.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 30 married women referred to the Counseling and Psychological Services Center during 2016 with a score of 75 on their marital burnout questionnaire. Subjects were selected using available sampling method and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups that each included 15 members and the pre-test-post-test-follow-up method was performed. The intervention group participated in an 8-session course of mindfulness-based stress reduction training. No intervention was provided for the subjects in the control group until the end of the follow-up stage. The data were collected using Pines Marital Burnout Scale (1996) which were completed in pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up stages by subjects in both groups. In the study groups, the components of marital burnout including physical fatigue, mental fatigue and emotional fatigue were compared and evaluated.
Results: Mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention reduced marital burnout and its components (physical fatigue, mental fatigue, and affective fatigue) in the interventional group compared to the control group at the end of the intervention and after one month follow-up (P<0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction training is an effectiveness intervention for reducing the level of marital burnout among women.
Keywords: Couples [MeSH], Burnout [MeSH], Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction , Women [MeSH],

Introduction: Premenstrual syndrome as a periodic event that social adjustment and interpersonal relationships can be difficult. Regarding the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and the harmful effect of severity of symptoms on marital satisfaction, The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between severity of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and marital satisfaction among couples in Kerman city in 2016.
Methods: This cross-sectional study that randomized 240 young couples who referred to health centers in Kerman were selected in the second 6 months of 2016. The instrument used a standard questionnaire screening premenstrual symptoms, a standard questionnaire Index Of Marital Satisfaction for the satisfaction of couples. The investigators have assured that all information obtained will remain confidential Data were analyzed by SPSS 20 software using independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, correlation coefficient and frequency distribution tables.
Results: The mean age of men and women respectively was equal to 35.5 ± 8.2 to 32.4 ± 7.6 . The mean and standard deviation of marital satisfaction score of women and men were (114.97 ± 23.27) and (125.25  ± 26.17 ) respectively There was a significant relationship between the satisfaction of men and women in relation to premenstrual syndrome (p=0/001).Pearson correlation showed an inverse relationship between the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and coupleschr('39') satisfaction. (r=-0.138 , P=0.002)..
Conclusion: With increasing severity of premenstrual syndrome in women, marital satisfaction decreases among couples.. so it is recommendate that women and men receive the necessary knowledge about to control the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Objective: The increased life expectancy of people living with HIV has brought about an increase in serodiscordant couples, in which there is risk of HIV transmission. Therefore, interventions that promote sexual health and reduce risk are critical to develop for these couples. Given the disproportionate burden of HIV among populations of color, it is also critical that these interventions are culturally congruent. The EBAN intervention for African American serodiscordant couples recognizes the centrality of culture in shap­ing sexual behaviors and helps couples develop intimacy and positive prevention behaviors. The analytic objective of our study was to examine the knowledge and awareness gained by participants in the intervention.Participants: Participants (n=17) who com­pleted at least half of the eight intervention sessions.Methods: Brief post-implementation semi-structured interviews were conducted be­tween January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016. Team-based, targeted content an...

Le modèle du couple actuel, uni par l’amour et désireux d’avoir des enfants, qu’il soit marié ou non, devient pour nos contemporains un vrai « lieu spirituel ». Comment, en chrétien, penser et accompagner le nouveau paradigme du « couple électif », quand les notions ainsi associées évoluent ? La spiritualité en Occident repose sur des héritages croisés et combinés : le dualisme gréco-romain ; une certaine focalisation sur la rédemption, et le péché de la chair ; une quête moderne visant à être soi, vrai, équilibré ; et la vision incarnée, communautaire et trinitaire de Vatican II, trop peu connue. La construction de la conjugalité entre amour, mariage, voire unions moins formelles, inspire vers 1930 une spiritualité conjugale » catholique, reconnue dans Gaudium et Spes. Or, la spiritualité, au sens large du terme, aide tout couple à tenir bon : d’où la relance d’une recherche pluridisciplinaire. Comment, donc, définir la « spiritualité coélective » qui anime les « couples électifs »...

Common perceptions of the artist still picture a lonely genius in a room of his own, writing, painting, or composing great works in isolation while amanuenses or, more likely, his wife takes care of worldly matters. Conversely, cultural history can sometimes cast artists as vessels floating on a tide of external events. Reality is more complex, especially in the twentieth century: here, the pace of change in societal and relationship dynamics render both these imaginary positions problematic. Examining collaborating couples can force us to rethink the paradigms of working relationships in the arts. Whether couples collaborated or hindered each other, what are the means to describe such complex creative partnerships? How can feminism, gender theories, and queer studies help shift perceptions and rediscover hidden powers and intimate connections? What methodologies can we use to research and write about intra-art and interdisciplinary couples? How do such couples perceive themselves and their work?


This conference seeks to engage with all kinds of collaborating couples, be it cases where traditional roles are intact, reversed, or changed otherwise.


Keynotes
Prof. Frances Spalding CBE, FRSL
Anthony Payne & Jane Manning OBE


Convenor and Programme Committee
Dr Annika Forkert (Convenor; Music, University of Bristol)
Dr Adrian Paterson (English, NUI Galway)
Dr Sarah Terry (English, Oglethorpe University)
Dr Tom Walker (English, Trinity College Dublin)