Author: Kurian Devasia AlamkulamPublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 194
Book Description
No one enters marriage in order to lead a distressed life. Nevertheless, modern era is stigmatized by marital distress and family degeneration, causing or/and exacerbating psychological as well as physical illness not only of the distressed couples, but also of their children and other family members. Partner relationship problem has become a botheration for mental health practitioners and pastoral counselors, and is one among the major reasons why people seek professional help. Hence, the purpose of this study was to come up with a Triangular Theory of Love Based Integrative Intervention Program for couples and to determine its effectiveness in reducing marital distress. The researcher utilized the true experimental research method, specifically between subjects: two independent groups (measures) design, administering pre-, post- and delayed posttests. This design determines if there were significant differences in the subjects level of marital distress before, after and three weeks after the administration of the intervention program. The study used eight factors of the standardized test Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Revised (MSI-R) in measuring the level of marital distress. 36 purposively selected couples from two distinct places of the south Indian state of Kerala participated in this study. The pretest mean scores and the independent sample t-test results revealed that the participants level of marital distress was high on most of the factors of MSI-R and that both groups were homogenous prior to the administration of the intervention program. The results also showed that there was a significant difference between the pretest and posttest mean scores of the experimental group who received treatment, and its posttest and delayed posttest mean scores indicated that the marital distress level shrank to moderate from high. Comparison of the posttest and delayed posttest results of the experimental group showed no significant difference in five factors, but significant reduction was observed in three factors. This would mean that the reduction of marital distress of the subjects in the experimental group was sustained even three weeks after the administration of the program and was further reduced after the administration of the posttest. Hence, the study suggests that the triangular theory of love based integrative interventon program was effective in reducing marital distress and enhancing marital satisfaction.