Couples Across Time: Exploring Changes, Health Impacts, and Decision Influences - Free Essay

Introduction

Marriage is considered a sacred art ordained by God according to the Christian religion. A couple is a group of two people, preferably a man and a woman, who have lawfully or officially acknowledged their unification of a personal relationship. In the present day, same-sex marriage is being accepted in society, and many nations have passed laws that allow it. During the past years, couples have changed in both positive and negative ways. The roles of couples in the past are different from how they do it in the present day. This analysis focuses on explaining four research examples that have been used to try and figure out the cause of the change in couples' relationships. Methods used to conduct the research are also examined and the strengths and shortcomings of the investigation. A case study was finally presented with a summary of directions that would help fill the last research gaps and facilitate future research.

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Research Examples of Behavior Change

Several research methods have been conducted to try and figure out how couples have changed. Sullivan and Davila show research on a partner's capacity for change, especially attachment theory (8). Personality change and the procedure of behavior change are also discussed in the study. The research's main objective was to solve the problem where a partner wants the other to change as they feel the change will make their relationship better. Clinical methods were used in the research study where several couples have been treated. During the treatment study, partners demanded a change in the other, and some went as far as requesting a divorce. A couple that was on the verge of divorce had been married for eleven years and had two children. Arguments among the couple were verbally intense but never reached a point where there was physical damage sustained by any partner during the disagreement.

The use of couple therapy was adopted in the method of research to decide whether a change is evident. Sullivan and Davila reported that on average twenty-five percent of the couple that undergoes therapy do not improve their relationship (13). In contrast, thirty percent of the couples somehow improve but still report challenges in the relationship. The remaining percentage shows a positive response to the treatment. However, they still face issues. They can solve the problems maturely. Therapy that involves emotional control encourages the partners to show their emotions and the partners to validate their feelings, thereby providing comfort to the distressed lover. The therapist aims to make the emotions feel deep to the couple to avoid unconscious disagreements and use reflection and reconstruction techniques to connect the feelings and dynamic of conflicts.

Strengths and Shortcomings

This research provides accurate data on what ability people can change. On data provided on personality stability, which emphasizes change, there was positive news and bad news. The positive information was that change is possible, and it depends on the environmental factors that affect an individual's emotions. The bad news was on the partner wanting change, as the data pointed out that whether a good or bad personality is stable and cannot change.

The weakness seen in Sullivan and Davila's research study was the inability to detect if someone was lying to have changed his or her behavior (8). The truth of the matter is that if an individual is not willing to change the behavior that their partner is complaining about, they possibly will not. The use of couple therapy may be of great help and a waste of time and resources. The shortcoming of using couple therapy is that couples who look for the treatment exhibit little to no upgrade. The pair may also fail to comfort to the treatment over time.

Research Study on Psychological Health

Fincham and Beach conducted research on the psychological health of couples. The research study took twelve months, and this made the findings accurate (633). Several couples were involved in this study, making the findings broad. Generally, in most couples, it was observed that marital conflicts resulted in the abuse of substances, for example, alcohol use disorder. Some partners experienced anxiety and negative mood changes, which made them suicidal, and opted for substance abuse disorder. Psychiatric conditions have been on the increase due to relationship discord. When measuring the stress hormones at the end of the study, there was a mutual rise in psychological stress among all couples. This rise in stress levels will likely lead to divorce resulting in a significant change from the previous decades' couples trying to find a solution to the problem.

Fincham and Beach also used the longitudinal data method to obtain information from many national samples of couples. The data determined that marital disagreements have resulted in an increased level of depression. Relationship satisfaction is lower among couples with both partners experiencing psychiatric disorders and a series of health problems. Conflicts in couple relationships result in numerous health problems, and the increased use of advanced research methods is set to expose the health problems associated with marriage.

Strengths and Shortcomings

It is evident that couples' arguments have been at an all-time high and should be considered a crisis. As seen in (Fincham & Beach 633) research paper, alcohol disorder shows how the partners use alcohol to forget all their sorrows at home. This study's strengths are seen in the accurate data obtained as it is true that almost fifty percent of persons who indulge in excessive drinking are from unhealthy marriages. It is also true that intense arguments among partners cause suicidal thoughts as there have been cases reported of partners committing suicide due to hateful comments from their lovers.

The study's shortcomings are that the participants' mental state was not measured to determine whether the problem was from the relationship or elsewhere. The review was broad and assumed that any mental health problem as a result of marital conflicts. Also, no solutions are provided on how couples could live together in understanding and harmony for better health benefits.

Research Study on Health Benefits in Couples

With aging comes huge risks of developing severe illness. However, several research studies tend to explain the health importance associated with marriage. Bookwala conducted research that focused on the importance of marriage to the partners' health (8). It was determined that as couples age, there are numerous health benefits that they get as compared to other aged persons who may be divorced, widowed, or never had a companion. This study also concluded that better health is a result of quality marriage. According to Zhang & Hayward, understanding the careful analysis that considers the health benefits of being married requires knowing the couple's marital transitions (645). Couples play an essential role in improving cognitive performance among themselves, which is a vital aspect of health and well-being as people age.

Bookwala also focused on essential aspects that bring out couple relationships during the middle and late adulthood stages. In recent decades, research studies on quality marriage across adult life have seen significant growth. The research is seen as multi-dimensional, thereby encompassing both positive and negative sides. Midlife and late-life relationships still undergo conflicts and disagreements; however, they solve their issues with much maturity due to their experience during the decades of being together. From the longitudinal research, the loss of a partner has diverse effects on the surviving partner's health and well-being, especially in old age. Social and emotional loneliness will bring stress among individuals in poor-quality relationships with more senior couple partners.

Strengths and Shortcomings

Some gaps exist in this review that require to be addressed. The study does not provide research on the health benefits that couples of the same sex receive while aging, and this creates a theme of bias among readers. There is also a need to use sophisticated methods while researching to attain accurate information.

This research shows significant data collection trends on older couples, which offer an all-inclusive outlook on the features that aged couples have towards their health and better management of diseases. Bookwala's research study also provides important information that may enhance both parties' self-care and well-being in a couple (8). Also, the chronic illness trajectory is managed in a better manner. A general resource for future studies and those studying couple relationships is provided by this research and can improve one's research.

Research Example on Decisions that Influence Couple Relationship

In the past decades, several kinds of research have explained how uniting decisions to form a couple has been influenced by partners' financial and economic status. Kelly, LeBaron, and Hill carried out extensive research to determine what affects individuals' decisions to form a family with somebody they love and adore (2). Longitudinal data was the study's method to determine how a person's finances were associated with individuals' having unions. The analysis determined that individuals with future worries about getting a higher education and a lower salary were not sure of ever being in a relationship and having children. Emerging adults with more education and high chances of securing a fruitful job are expected to be in a severe personal relationship and bear children in the future.

Kelly, LeBaron & Hill's research used a longitudinal data method of over a thousand children that found an association between child support and the quality of the relationship between mothers and biological fathers (4). The research concluded that the child support program benefits the family and improves the nonresidential partner's involvement in the child's life. Fathers in underdeveloped countries where employment rates are low, resulting in low income, most children in the area still receive either full or partial financial support (Madhavan 455). Madhavan's research took twenty years for the longitudinal survey, thereby providing accurate information. The study was conducted in South Africa, and the findings were extensive in parenting efforts.

Strengths and Shortcomings

The research was conducted using advanced methods such as longitudinal data collection, making it extensive and accurate. Some important information was on the future of young single mothers tend to have lower income and self-esteem. This research on young single mothers can relate to it; for example, one can agree that they will have lower satisfaction when they get into a personal relationship since they were disappointed by the first partner who impregnated them and left. Conflicts would often arise in that household, which would result in a divorce or worse-case scenarios.

A weakness noted in (Kelly, LeBaron and Hill 2), study was the lack of extensive search while conducting. Apart from economic effects, several other things impact either positively or negatively an individual's decision. There was bias in conducting the study as it only focused on one issue. Research studies should be a broad analysis of macro and micro issues that affect the decisions of individuals. It should also incorporate current issues, for example, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the decision-making of starting a family.