Later-Life Marital Dissolution in Italy:An Emerging Phenomenon?

The phenomenon of marital dissolution in later life,also referred to as“gray divorce”,is described on the rise in contemporary Western societies.This article contributes to the study of marriage breakdown in older age,with a specific focus on Italian society.First,the temporal trends of this phenomenon are reconstructed using official statistics.The data reveal that,although still relatively rare,the dissolution of marriage in later life is expanding in Italy.The analysis of the period from 1974 to 2015 indicates a rise in the average age at separation,a higher percentage of spouses over 50 years on the total number of couples obtaining legal separation,and an increase in the proportion of Italian spouses separating after many years of marriage.Furthermore,data from the national survey“Family and Social Subjects”,conducted in 2016 by the Italian National Institute of Statistics,are utilized to explore the relationship between specific traits of those who separated and their tendency to dissolve marriages before or after the age of 50.The data suggest that individuals with characteristics such as lower educational attainment,residence in the South and Islands,and adherence to more traditional family models are more likely to experience separation in later life.

Mediating effect of mindfulness level on the relationship between marital quality and postpartum depression among primiparas

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression refers to a depressive episode or depressive symptoms up to 12 mo after delivery.Trait mindfulness has presented a protective factor for postpartum depressive symptoms and proved efficient in improving relationship satisfaction among couples.AIM To investigate the correlations among mindfulness,marital quality,anxiety,and depression in a large city in western China during the post-corona virus infectious disease-2019 era and determine whether trait mindfulness mediates the relationship between marital quality and postpartum anxiety and depression among primiparas.METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted.The self-administered questionnaire was submitted online through smartphones.The levels of mindfulness,anxiety,depression,and marital quality were respectively investigated by the mindful attention awareness scale(MAAS),the self-rating anxiety scale(SAS),the selfrating depression scale(SDS),and the marriage perception scale(MPS)in these enrolled Han and Tujia primiparas.RESULTS No statistical significance was observed in the prevalence of postpartum anxiety and depression,nor scores of MAAS and MPS-Total in different regions or ethnicities(P>0.05).However,MPSMarital interaction(P<0.05),MPS-Family relationship(MPS-FR)(P<0.01),and MPS-Marital conflict(MPS-MC)(P<0.01)scores of urban primiparas were higher than those of rural primiparas.The MPS-MC score of Han primiparas was higher than that of Tujia primiparas(P<0.05).Negative correlations were observed between MAAS and SAS(r=-0.457,P<0.01),and MAAS and SDS(r=-0.439,P<0.01).SAS has revealed a highly positive correlation with SDS(r=0.720,P<0.01)and a weak negative correlation with MPS(r=-0.200,P<0.05).Besides,a weak negative correlation was observed between MAAS and MPS-MC(r=-0.184,P<0.05),and a weak positive correlation was noticed between SAS and MPS-MC(r=-0.225,P<0.01).Mediation analysis demonstrated a full mediation effect of mindfulness level on the relationship between MPS-FR and postpartum anxiety(P<0.05,95%CI:-0.384 to 0.033),MPS-MC and postpartum anxiety(P<0.01,95%CI:0.027-0.193),MPS-FR and postpartum depression(P<0.05,95%CI:-0.365 to 0.031),and MPS-MC and postpartum depression(P<0.01,95%CI:0.022-0.206).CONCLUSION Mindfulness demonstrates negative correlations with marital conflict,postpartum anxiety and depression,and it may have cross-ethnic and trans-regional characteristics.Although the mindfulness levels have revealed no significant mediating effect between the total score of marital quality and postpartum depression in this study,it demonstrates a full mediation effect on the relationships between family relationships,marital conflict,and postpartum anxiety and depression.

The Relationship Between Premarital Expectation and Marital Satisfaction Among Married Couples in Bole Sub-city of Addis Ababa City Administration

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between married couples’premarital expectations and marital satisfaction in the Bole sub-city of Addis Ababa.A quantitative descriptive survey was employed in this study.A sample of 100 married couples(200 participants)was used as a primary source of data.The sampling technique employed was a convenience sampling method.A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from primary sources.Pearson’s correlation,standard linear regression,one way ANOVA,and independent T-test were used as data analysis techniques with an acceptable significance level(p<0.05).The result of the study indicated that there was a significantly positive relationship between premarital expectation and marital satisfaction.Marital communication was observed to have a statistically significant predictor effect on marital satisfaction.Socio-demographic factors assumed to have a contribution to variance in premarital expectations and marital satisfaction of couples have been identified;educational level,religious affiliation,and source of marital information were identified to have a contribution to differences in premarital expectation.Age,religious affiliation,income level,and duration of courtship were identified to have a significant contribution to differences in marital satisfaction of married couples.The findings of the study have practical implications in marriage counseling,couples capacity building training,couples conflict resolution,and for researchers in the area of marriage and marital relationship.

The influence of marital status on the social dysfunction of schizophrenia patients in community

Objective:Estimate predictive associations of marital status with social dysfunction in schizophrenia patients.Methods:817 schizophrenia patients lived in the community of Dongguan,Guangdong province,China,were investigated with the Social Disability Screening Schedule(SDSS)during a three-month period(1.2010e3.2010).The demographic data were harvested.The c2 test,t test,and fisher's exact were used for comparisons between groups,as appropriate.Multinomial logistic regression(MLR)was used to analyze the predictive associations of demographic variables to the grading of social dysfunctions.Results:The study group consisted of male and female patients aged 16e59 years,407 females,and 410 males with the mean age(40.7±9.5)years.Analysis of the data revealed significant differences in course of disease and marital status among patients(with and without dysfunction).The married patient made a significant difference with divorced/widowed patient in mildlyemoderately social dysfunction.There was a significant difference in married and never-married patient with mildly and profoundly social dysfunction.Significant differences were noticed in the self care and occupational roles of the married patient with that of the never-married.Conclusion:This study confirmed that bad marital status is associated with higher odds of social dysfunction among patients with schizophrenia living in the community.These effects should be included in considerations of public health investments in preventing and treating mental disorders.

Association of marital status with takotsubo syndrome(broken heart syndrome)among adults in the United States

BACKGROUND The pathophysiology of takotsubo syndrome(TTS)is not well understood,however,it is often precipitated by psychological or physical stress.Marital status is related to emotional stress,but its associations with TTS are limited.AIM To explored the potential association between marital status and TTS.METHODS We conducted a case-control study using data on patients aged≥40 years with marital status data in the National Hospital Discharge Survey(2006-2010).The International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision codes were used to identify cases with TTS and other comorbid conditions.Each case was matched to 5 controls by age,sex,year of TTS diagnosis and bed size of hospital.Two sets of controls were selected:Acute myocardial infarction(AMI)controls and noncardiovascular disease(CVD)controls.Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios(OR)and 95%confidence intervals(CI)for the association of marital status with TTS.RESULTS The 59 patients with TTS who had information on marital status were matched to 295 controls with AMI and 295 non-CVD controls,resulting in a sample of 649 patients.The average age of cases was 69.7±11 years with 90%being women and 88%reporting White race.In multivariable-adjusted models,compared to singles,patients who were married had lower odds of TTS(OR=0.86,95%CI:0.79–0.93)while those who were widowed(OR=1.14,95%CI:1.05–1.23)or divorced/separated(OR=1.32,95%CI:1.21–1.45)had elevated odds for TTS when compared to non-CVD controls.Similar results were observed when cases were compared to controls with AMI.CONCLUSION In this study,being married was associated with lower odds for TTS while being divorced/separated or widowed was related to elevated odds for TTS.These novel findings that underscore the potential importance of social factors like marital status in the development of TTS need confirmation in larger studies.

Marital satisfaction, job satisfaction and psychological health of secondary school teachers

Introduction: Marital satisfaction has remained a topic of great interest worldwide. Association has been postulated between marital satisfaction, job satisfaction and mental health. There is, however, a paucity of research on marital satisfaction in Nigeria, particularly in relation to job satisfaction and psychological health. Objective: The objective of this study is thus to assess the level of marital satisfaction and to explore the relationship if any between marital satisfaction, job satisfaction and mental health of secondary school teachers in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on teachers in secondary schools in Benin City, Nigeria. A total population of 300 teachers who had been married and teaching for at least one year were included in the study. The information required for the study were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and two standard instruments, the Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS) and the General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ 28). The GHQ was used to assess the workers psychological health, while the IMS was used to assess the degree of marital satisfaction. Results: Two hundred and fifteen (82.7%) teachers had marital satisfaction, 54 (20.8%) had psychological disorder while 56 (21.5%) were dissatisfied with their job. A strong association was found between marital dissatisfaction and psychological disorder (X2 = 56.826;df = 1, P = 0.0004). No association was found between marital dissatisfaction and job dissatisfaction. No association was also found between job dissatisfaction and psychological disorder. Conclusion: A high level of marital satisfaction was found in the study population. However, the strong association also found between marital dissatisfaction and psychological disorder provides empirical evidence on the need to educate married couples as well as the general public on the mental health implication of marital dissatisfaction.

Effectiveness of the Combination of Solution-Focused Therapy and Narrative Therapy in Marital Adjustment among Incompatible Iranian Women

The present study aims to examine the effectiveness of the combination of solution-focused therapy and narrative therapy in marital adjustment of incompatible women. This research is a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study design with a nonequivalent control group. The statistical population comprises all the incompatible women who referred to the counseling clinics of Neyshabour in May 2016 (1500 admission per month). The research sample consists of 24 incompatible women who were selected through Randomand available sampling method. For data collection, Marital Adjustment Scale by Spinner was applied. The data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance test and with the aid of SPSS-22 software. The findings demonstrated that the combination of solution-focused therapy and narrative therapy is significantly effective in marital adjustment of incompatible women (P < 0.05). Thus, it can be stated that the combination of solution-focused therapy and narrative therapy can help to promote adjustment among incompatible women.

Determining the Effectiveness of Cognitive Therapy on Mindfulness-Based in Marital Fatigue and Women Intimacy

This research aimed at determining the effectiveness of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness in marital fatigue and married women intimacy. The semi-experimental research design with witness group and evaluation for pretest-posttest was used. The study population consisted of married women, referred to health counseling center in the 1st district of Tehran during 2016 and lasted about 1 year. Using random sampling method, were selected 30 married women referred to health counseling center in the 1st district of Tehran, whom the main reason for their visit was declared incompatibility and marital conflict. And 15 of those who would like to participate in training mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, were in the experimental group and 15 others were in the witness group. For experimental group, were presented mindfulness-based interventions in 8 sessions every session in one and a half hours. In this study, to collect data was to use two questionnaires: measure marital intimacy and marital fatigue. After collecting the results, data were entered into the software Spss and assumptions were evaluated using analysis of covariance. The results showed that the average of experimental group compared with the control group after the intervention health was significantly different in variables like: physical fatigue, mental disability, emotional banality, and intimacy (p = 0.001). According to the findings above, it can be concluded that a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy training can reduce marital fatigue and as well as significantly effective in intimacy.

Marital distress and disease progression: A systematic review

Objective: To review the state of research on the association between marital distress and disease progression. Methods: The PubMed Central, Wiley Interscience, Sciencedirect, Biomed central and Springer-link were searched to identify studies published between January 1984 and October 2012 on disease progression. Articles meeting the following criteria were selected for review: 1) study subjects were spouses, 2) the article was published within the past 28 years in a peer-reviewed journal, and 3) the research included at least one of the following outcomes-marital distress or disease progression. Articles were different on time span, the number of surveys, and the definition of disease. Results: Out of 72 screened articles, 18 met our criteria. Research demonstrates that marital distress and disease progression appear to have bidirectional influence on each other. Conclusion: Marital distress has a significant effect on disease progression. This article summarizes what is known about the association of marital distress on disease progression among spouses with disease. The authors speculate that associations between marital distress and disease progression will motivate policy makers in developing countries to allocate more resources towards spousal service.

Effectiveness of Group Therapy Based on Transactional Analysis (TA) in Marital Burnout and Forbearance of Female Students

This research is a semi-experimental study (pretest-posttest design with unequal control group). This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the group therapy based on transactional analysis in marital burnout and forbearance of married female students. The research on statistical population comprised all married female students studying in humanities subjects in Neishabour Islamic Azad University in the academic year 2015-16. The sample included 24 of these students, who were selected voluntarily and through Random sampling method and were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. Measurement tools consisted of Couple Burnout Measure (CBM) and Evans marital forbearance questionnaire. The experimental group received 10 one-half hour sessions of the treatment based on the transactional analysis whereas in the meantime, the control group received nutritional trainings. The results indicated that the therapy based on the transactional analysis had been effective in reducing marital burnout and increasing the forbearance of couples.

Marital Status and HIV Prevalence in Nigeria: Implications for Effective Prevention Programmes for Women

Objective: Until recently, HIV prevalence has been based on estimates from antenatal sentinel surveys which have been found to overestimate HIV prevalence among the general population. Multiple studies have shown women to be disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS epidemic. Design: Data for this study were based on the first Nigerian population household-based HIV biomarker survey of 2007, which used a multi-stage probability sampling technique. Methods: Respondents were selected through probability sampling (male age 15 - 64 years and female 15 - 49 years). This paper, therefore, examined the correlates of marital status and HIV prevalence among women in Nigeria. Results: A descriptive analysis of the data showed that HIV prevalence of women that were formerly married: divorced, separated or widowed were more than double that of those who were currently married/cohabiting with a sexual partner;and more than three times those that were never married. Bivariate and multivariate levels of analysis were explored in this paper. At bivariate level, findings showed a significant difference in HIV prevalence among women according to their marital status (p 0.0001), educational attainment (p = 0.004) and geo-political zones (p = 0.003). Respondents that were formerly married were 5.6 times as likely to be infected with HIV compared with those who had never married (OR = 5.6, p 0.0001) while HIV prevalence increased with higher educational attainment. Conclusion: In view of these findings, HIV programmers should design interventions that will improve economic empowerment as well as social security for women that were formerly married. In addition, gender mainstreaming in the ongoing HIV and AIDS preventive efforts should be strengthened and scaled-up.

Longtime Couples Tell Their Story: An Integrated Constructivist View of Marital Relationships

The current study was designed to explore how longtime couples understand and manage their marital relationships into later time of their lives.An integrated approach of social exchanged and symbolic interactionism was adopted to understand how longtime couples develop,organize,and adjust their experience of marriage via active exchange and interactions.Participants were five Caucasian heterosexual couples who have been married for more than 18 years.A narrative interview was conducted on each couple separately.Participants were asked to tell a story of how their marriages started and developed in time jointly.Four major processes emerged from the current study displayed how longtime couples proactively engage in managing their life together as a union.The current study revealed a series of exploratory results concerning how individuals in marital relationships communicate and cooperate with each other in the process of their marital relationship development.It also identified an interesting point of view concerning how couples actively manage their negative experiences regarding critical transitioning life events related to their marriage.This adds evidence to understand and predict marital outcomes from a micro-social constructivist approach.Implications about couples and family counseling from a social-constructive approach,as well as the probability of synthesizing a social-constructivist family framework with a systemic family framework,are thus provided.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of sexual skills training on increasing marital satisfaction

Background and Aims: Dissatisfaction with sexual relationships can influence the marital life of people and have negative psychological effects on them. Hence, the current research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of sexual skills training on marital satisfaction. Methods: The study design was quasiexperimental with pre-test and post-test type along with a control group. The research samples included 14 couples (28 people) who were randomly divided into experimental and control groups to evaluate the effect of sexual medicine intervention. Interventions were provided to the experimental group during 9 sessions. Control group did not receive any interventions during this time. Enrich Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (short form) was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 19, software. Results and Conclusion: The results revealed that sexual skills training increased marital satisfaction (p<0.01). Thus, based on the results obtained and the importance of sexual skills training in increasing marital satisfaction, psychotherapists and counselors are recommended to use this intervention to reduce marital problems and increase satisfaction in couples.

The Impact of Pre-Marital Counseling and Psychological Variables on Marital Satisfaction Among Married Couples in Laterbiokoshie, Accra, Ghana

The study examined the effect of pre-marital counseling on marital satisfaction and the relationship of three psychological variables,intimacy,self-esteem and locus of control among married couples who received marital counseling and married couples who did not receive marital counseling.The study employed a cross-sectional survey.Standardized questionnaires were used to assess all variables of interest.Data entry,validation and analysis was done using the Statistical Product and Services Solution software(SPSS version 25).The total number of study participants were 720.The sample was predominantly female,430(60%)and Christian,675(94%).Study participants who were married by ordinance comprised 400(56%)and most of them attended pre-marital counseling 470(65%)for at least five months(Mean,S.D.=5.54±3.44).The results showed that couples who attended pre-marital counseling before marriage were more significantly satisfied with their marriages than those who did not attend pre-marital counseling before marrying[t(718)=2.050,p<.05].Intimacy and self-esteem significantly influenced marital satisfaction among married couples who received pre-marital counseling,whereas only intimacy had a significant influence among couples who did not receive pre-marital counseling.Pre-marital counseling should be encouraged in all counseling centers and churches.

Marital Stress and Married Working Women in Nigeria:the Role of Coping Strategies,Self-Concept and Educational Qualification

In this 21st century a lot of women are experiencing marital challenges due to the various and important roles they perform in the home and in the society,which may require some psychological remedies.The research was on marital stress and married working women:the role of coping strategies,self-concept and educational qualification.Three hundred and seventy-seven(377)participants whose ages were between 25 to 55 years(mean 40.63 and SD 7.59)participated in the study.Three research instruments were used for data collection while three-way Analysis of Variance was used for data analysis.Result disclosed that emotion-focused strategies yielded less manifestation of marital stress(1,369)=4.44,sig.=.036;in the same manner,those with higher educational qualification presented less manifestation of marital stress(1,369)=6.33,sig.=.012.It was equally specified that coping strategies together with self-concept had a joint impact on marital stress(1,369)=5.88,sig.=.016;a joint influence was also observed between self-concept and educational qualification on marital stress(1,369)=4.18,sig.=.042.Hence,married working women should strive for higher education and also use emotion-focused coping strategies in dealing with marital stress.

Poverty as a Determinant of Marital Status in the Douala Metropolis of Cameroon

This paper examines how poverty determines people’s marital status and their participation in the desired leading values of the metropolitan city of Douala.We used the quota sampling method in which the number of respondents selected from each division was determined by its population size,and then we divided the various divisions into clusters(neighbourhoods).We employed a systematic sampling method in the clusters in which we started with an nth subject and then selected every twentieth unit after the first.We sampled everyone:the married,divorcees,single and cohabiting people in order to understand how poverty determines their different marital statuses.We discovered that the more prestigious jobs people do,the more they earn and the higher the probability that they are married and either rent or own more expensive homes.Equally,the more people become jobless and have precarious jobs,the higher the rate of divorce,single,separated and cohabitating persons and the higher the probability that they are either dependent or homeless.However,marriage constrains people’s participation in the main values of their society,that is why married people diversify less their meals and leisure activities as compared to separated and engaged persons.

A Functional Comparison of Marital Debts in Common Law Jurisdictions:Lessons from the Model Not Accepting the Common Property Regime

Traditionally,the Common Law System exercises a legal separation of marital property regime between husband and wife;this regime still has interpretation theory value for functional comparison to that of China.The husband-wife personality integration in the early days of the Common Law System goes back to the original agency of necessity similar to that of the daily family agency of the Civil Law System;the aim was to strengthen marital coherence rather than protect creditors.The“daily family needs”should beidentifiedwithoutexcluding the husband-and-wife separation period,and be based on the consumption level during the time that a couple have lived together.The current mainstream mode of the Common Law System starts from the“Consensual Approach”under the legal regime of separation of property between husband and wife,and limits the“Purpose Theory”to cases of insufficient consensual evidence.Moreover,thismainstream mode is supplemented by the“Presumption Theory”that only exists as a method of proof,and is similar to the current Chinese position of co-debt and co-signing.When a nondebtor consents a debtor to borrow money in the name of husband and wife,this consent can be used as a yardstick to determine their marital community debt and to identify the nature of various debts in the context of marital community debt.

An Empirical Study on the Determination and Coliection Rules for Marital Community Debts

In dealing with the problem of determining whether a debt should be a marital community debt and how such a debt should be collected,judges may have different value orientations regarding the tradeoff between the protection of marriage and family and the protection of the creditors,which needs to be studied based on empirical evidence.After the Judicial Interpretationss[2018]No.2(Fa Shi[2018]No.2)was enacted,we analyzed 863 judgments and motions of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China(PRC)and the high people's courts,and found that under the framework of existing normative regime,judges can still reach different valuejudgmentssbasedondifferent interpretative techniques.Judges differed in interpreting the terms of“common intent,”“family daily needs,”“common livelihood,”and1“joint production and operation,”and they applied various debt collection rules.These facts indicate that sometimes judges have a complex value balancing process in marginal cases,and they have made different value judgmenttthroughh extending or confining debt determination rules or debt collection rules.In some other cases,the different application of rules indicate that judges have interpreted those rules in a wrong way.By studying the judges'existing value orientations and how judges made their decisions,we can evaluate whether existing rules for determining and collecting marital community debts have balanced conflicting values properly,and such facts can also build further consensus for the development of rules.