Johnson L.K.,
Senthilkumar Thavasiappan,
Nandini Mannadath,
Adheena Mariya B.,
Alphonsa Siby,
Angela Robert,
Jilna Jiji,
Sreevidhya V.K.,
- Vice Principal Lourde College of Nursing Kerala India
- Principal Lourde College of Nursing Kerala India
- Assistant Professor University of Bahrain Bahrain Kingdom of Bahrain
- Student Lourde College of Nursing Kerala India
- Student Lourde College of Nursing Kerala India
- Student Lourde College of Nursing Kerala India
- Student Lourde College of Nursing Kerala India
- Student Lourde College of Nursing Kerala India
Abstract
Introduction: Marital satisfaction is a significant contributor to general sense of happiness. A fulfilling marital relationship meets the intimacy requirements of both partners and contributes to their overall physical and mental well-being. However, elderly couples in today’s era face new challenges associated with prolonged longevity. A study was conducted to explore the lived experience of marital satisfaction among married middle-aged women in selected community in Kannur. Objective of study was to identify the lived experience of middle-aged women regarding marital satisfaction. Methods: The study employed a qualitative research approach with a phenomenological design. Purposive sampling was utilized to select participants, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 married women in middle age at their residences, using a semi-structured interview guide. Results: Sample characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed using Colazzi’s seven-stage method. Most of the subjects were in age groups of 25 to 34 and 45 to 54 years. In all, 70% subjects belong to Christian religion, 40% of them have secondary or higher secondary education, 40% had family income about less than INR 10000, 80% belongs to nuclear family, 60% of subjects lived in rural area of residence, most of subjects 90% had an arranged marriage, 40% of subjects use mass media such as newspapers and others, and 50% of subjects are homemakers. Themes and subthemes derived from qualitative analysis are physical dimension (sexual satisfaction, disturbance due to physical issues in marital life, problems with shared bedroom), social dimension (change in social life, effect of social media), financial satisfaction (satisfaction with family income, efficiency of spouse to manage family budget), spiritual dimensions (religious beliefs and support), psychological dimension (life before and after marriage, expectation before and after marriage, limitations in decision making among couples, fear in marital life, challenging part in marital life, thought about not getting married), behavioral dimension (fight and its cause in marital life, bad habits in marital life ), satisfaction with partner (shortcomings felt in partner, dependence upon the partner), and communication aspect in marital life (quality of communication, concept about non-disclosure of fact).
Keywords: Phenomenology, lived experience, marital satisfaction, middle-aged women.
[This article belongs to International Journal of Women’s Health Nursing And Practices(ijwhnp)]
References
- Perween A, Pau K, Morgul E, Taufiq I, Rehman A, Khan W, Khan IA. Marital satisfaction and mental health among working community in Malaysia. Global J Res Anal. 2017; 6 (8): 598–600
- Papalia DE, Olds SW, Feldman RD. Human Development. 13th edition. New York, NY, USA: Mc-Graw Hill; 2004.
- Abreu-Afonso J, Ramos MM, Queiroz-Garcia I, Leal I. How couple’s relationship lasts over time? A model for marital satisfaction. Psychol Rep. 2022; 125 (3): 1601–1627. doi: 10.1177/00332941211000651.
- American Psychological Association. Are Married People Happier than Unmarried People? [Online]. 2003. Available at: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2003/03/married-happy
- Nandini M, Jayan C. Living with difference: experiences of adolescents subjected to oral facial cleft repair. Int J Indian P 2016; 3 (2): 128–135.
- Rollins BC, Feldman H. Marital satisfaction over the family life J Marriage Fam. 1970; 32 (1): 20–28.
- Malaviya AN, Kapoor SK, Singh RR, Kumar A, Pande I. Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the adult Indian population. Rheumatol Int. 1993; 13 (4): 131–13 doi: 10.1007/BF00301258.
- Acitelli LK, Duck Intimacy as the proverbial elephant. In: Perlman D, Duck S, editors.Intimate Relationships: Development, Dynamics, and Deterioration. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications; 1987.pp. 297–308.
- Piechota A, Ali T, Tomlinson JM, Monin JK. Social participation and marital satisfaction in mid to late life marriage. J Soc Pers Relat. 2022; 39 (4): 1175–1188. doi: 10.1177/02654075211056289.
- Taghani R, Ashrafizaveh A, Ghanbari Soodkhori M, Azmoude E, Tatari M. Marital satisfaction and its associated factors at reproductive age women referred to health centers. J Educ Health Promot. 2019; 8: doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_172_18.
- Hajipour Khorasani N, Hosseini M, Matbouei M, Khafri S, Vasli P, Vardanjani AE. The study of relationship between self–efficacy and marital satisfaction of couples referring to the community health centers of Babol in 2015. Br J Med Med Res. 2017; 19 (9): 1–9.
- Najafi Zadeh A, Mirzajan Tabriz A. Study of predicting marriage satisfaction based on emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence and self-efficiency. Asian J Med Pharm Res. 2014; 4: 160–16
- Rajabi G, Sarvestani Y, Aslani K, Khojasteh Mehr R. Marriage satisfaction prediction in married female nurses. Nurs J Iran. 2013; 82: 23–33.
- Mitchell KR, Geary R, Graham CA, Datta J, Wellings K, Sonnenberg P, Field N, Nunns D, Bancroft J, Jones KG, Johnson AM, Mercer CH. Painful sex (dyspareunia) in women: prevalence and associated factors in a British population probability survey. BJOG. 2017; 124: 1689–16
- Smith KB, Pukall CF. A systematic review of relationship adjustment and sexual satisfaction among women with provoked vestibulodynia. J Sex Res. 2011; 48: 166–1
- Fathi S, Azadian A. The effect of demographic factors on marital satisfaction of couples 35- to 55-year old couples (resident in 3rd and 20th districts of Tehran). Womens Strategic Stud. 2017; 19 (75):111–1
- Pourmeidani S, Noori A, Shafti S. Relationship between life style and marital satisfaction. J Fam Res. 2014; 10: 331–3
- Valian K. A Comparative Study of Marital Satisfaction, Self Esteem and Body Rate in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. MSc Thesis. Tehran, Iran: Tehran University of Medical Science; 2013.
- Golmakani N, Dormohammadi M, Mazloum SR. Survey of sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction during postpartum at primiparous women referred to health care centers of Mashhad, Iran. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil. 2013; 16: 7–13.
- Tavakol Z, Mirmolaei ST, Momeni Movahed Z, Mansouri A. The survey of sexual function relationship with sexual satisfaction in referred to Tehran South city health centers. Sci J Hamadan Nurs Midwifery Fac. 2011; 19: 50–5
- Zare Z, Golmakani N, Shareh H, Shakeri MT. Survey of relationship between sexual self-efficacy and sexual life quality with marital satisfaction in primiparous women after childbirth. J Stud Res Committee Sabzevar Univ Med Sci. 2016; 36:1–10.
International Journal of Women’s Health Nursing And Practices
Volume | 02 |
Issue | 01 |
Received | January 1, 2024 |
Accepted | March 27, 2024 |
Published | March 30, 2024 |