Comparison of Marital Intimacy Challenges in Dual-Income Couples with Low and High Marital Intimacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63053/ijhes.155Keywords:
challenge, dual-income couples, marital intimacy, low and high marital intimacy, comparisonAbstract
The aim of the present research was to compare the challenges of marital intimacy in dual-income couples with low and high marital intimacy. The research was conducted using a qualitative thematic analysis method. Participants included 7 couples, all aged between 35 and 46 years, selected through purposive and convenient sampling. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the Braun and Clarke method. Additionally, the Marital Intimacy Scale by Thompson and Walker (MIS) was used to screen the information obtained from the interviews. The findings of the present research regarding the core theme of "challenges of marital intimacy in dual-income couples with low marital intimacy" included two main themes: "couple-centered challenges" with sub-themes: weakness in effective communication, neglecting the spouse's wishes, time constraints, weakness in fulfilling spousal and parental roles, and unreasonable expectations of the spouse; and "individual-centered challenges" with sub-themes: personality traits, thoughts of separation and divorce, and normalizing frequent arguments by one party. Furthermore, the findings regarding the core theme of "challenges of marital intimacy in dual-income couples with high marital intimacy" included three main themes: "couple-centered challenges" with sub-themes: weakness in effective communication, neglecting the spouse's wishes, time constraints, postponing discussions about expectations to uncomfortable times, and unreasonable expectations of the spouse; "job-centered challenges" with the sub-theme: work-family conflicts; and "individual-centered challenges" with the sub-theme: personality traits. In addition, the findings regarding the core theme of "challenges of marital intimacy in dual-income couples (common to both groups)" included two main themes: "couple-centered challenges" with sub-themes: weakness in effective communication, weakness in fulfilling spousal and parental roles, and unreasonable expectations of the spouse; and "job-centered challenges" with the sub-theme: work-family conflicts. Overall, it can be concluded that some challenges of marital intimacy in dual-income couples are dependent on the level of marital intimacy, while others are independent of it.
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