Marital Satisfaction in Different Types of Marriage

Abstract

Among all the interpersonal relations, marriage is the most important one as mostly people get married at least once in their life (Berscheid & Regan, 2005). Marriage is not only a close personal relationship but also a social institution which affects the life of people. It is basis for the formation of a family in terms of producing and raising children (Ponzetti & Mutch, 2006) as it legally allows sexual relations and encourages loyalty between husband and wife (Rao, 2002; Stutzer & Frey, 2006). Marriage starts with the selection of a marriage partner which is one of the most serious decision in the life of an individual (Fisman, Iyengar, Kamenica, & Simonson, 2006). The way of selecting a marriage partner, procedure, rules and criteria vary mostly from culture to culture and from one society to another. Individuals sometimes select their spouse with their own choice and sometimes they are selected by other individuals such as family etc. Hamon and Ingoldsby (2003) described three approaches for mate selection; marriage by capture, arranged marriage and free-choice mate selection. Marriage by capture is not a usual and accepted method as in it men marry the women by force and without women's will. Zadeh (2003) categorized marriages in terms of procedure into totally arranged marriages, partially arranged, partially love marriages and totally love marriages. In the same vein, Arif (2012) observed three ways of marriage in Pakistan i.e arranged marriage, marriage by choice with parental acceptance and marriage by choice without parental acceptance.Although both arranged and by choice marriages are acceptable in various cultures, they have very different characteristics, results and diverse affects on individuals (Dost, Shaft, Shaheen & Khan, 2011). An arranged marriage involves two individuals who are strangers for each other but their families choose them to be married. Sometimes both individuals have a chance to know about each other before accepting each other as a potential partner. It is involved. Family members such as parents, siblings or elders and professional match makers select suitable potential partners for mostly done with the consent and permission of the partner's young people. In arranged marriages vocation of the groom rather than love, is an important factor. Caste, class, religion, family reputation, horoscope, age and language etc are the focus of concern in arranged marriages (Stange, Oyster, & Saloan, 2011).Marriage of choice is commonly referred as love marriage. Love marriages are those in which two people feel love for each other and they wish to share that love for the rest of their life and so they decide to be married (Dost, Shafi, Shaheen, & Khan, 2011). Young men and women are likely to date, court, fall in love, and then decide whether to get married, in accordance with their choice of a potential partner, with or without parental consent. Love marriages are considered to be full of love, emotions and belief of a beautiful loving future but there is no assurance of success (Dost, Shafi, Shaheen, & Khan, 2011).As we know that the mate selection procedures vary from culture to culture so in individualistic societies mate is selected by the individuals themselves whereas in countries with collectivist orientations, mate is often selected by the family rather than the individuals (Cohen, DeVault, & Strong, 2011). Saroja and Surendra (1991) investigated the endogamous preference of mate selection in postgraduate students of India. The results revealed that 58% of the students preferred arranged marriages whereas 42% of the students preferred to marry for love.Pakistan is also the country with collectivist orientation and the practice and meaning of marriages in Pakistan reflects a pattern quite different from that of the Western world. In Pakistan, marriage represents the union of two families. Marriage is more a social affair than an individual affair, as it is considered as the union of two families not just two individuals (Sonpar, 2005). …