Sex Roles and Marital Adjustment in Indian Couples

Rathna Isaac and Anisha Shah
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Rathna Isaac: Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bangalore, India-560029.rathna_i@hotmail.com
Anisha Shah: Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2004, vol. 50, issue 2, 129-141

Abstract: Background: Marital theorists suggest a link between sex role differences and close relationships for men and women. Marriage is often a context for the activation and expression of sex roles. As marital adjustment is influenced by complementarity of roles between husband and wife, the same could hold true for sex roles as well. Aim: To study the relationship between sex roles and marital adjustment in Indian couples. Methods: The sample consisted of 20 distressed and 20 non-distressed couples from a marital and family therapy centre in the city of Bangalore, India. The measures used included a sociodemographic data sheet, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Bem Sex Role Inventory and a semi-structured interview schedule for gendered experiences. Means, percentages and ANOVAS were used to analyse statistically the data. Content analysis was applied on material from the semistructured interview schedule. Results: The study revealed that: (a) the group as a whole showed greater femininity than masculinity; (b) more non-distressed individuals show high androgyny; (c) androgynous dyads show better marital adjustment; and (d) qualitative analysis suggests a trend for couples to move towards more gender-neutral constructions of marriage. Conclusions: The results indicate a link between androgyny and marital adjustment. The results also suggest the type of match between dyads.

Keywords: androgyny; marital adjustment; marital distress; sex role (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:50:y:2004:i:2:p:129-141

DOI: 10.1177/0020764004040960

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