1 Loránd Eötvös Scientific University, Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology Theses of the Doctoral dissertation Mrs. Zsuzsanna Kozéki-Hammer ASSESSMENT OF THE COUPLE RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION IN A SYSTEMIC FRAMEWORK Doctoral School of Psychology Head of the Doctoral School: Prof. Dr. György Hunyady, PhD, member of MTA Personality and Health Psychology Doctoral Program Head of Program: Prof. Dr. Attila Oláh Attila, university lecture Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Attila Oláh Attila, PhD Members of the appraisal committee: Head: Prof. Dr. Márta Fülöp, PhD ELTE Reviewers: Dr. Adrien Rigó Pigniczkiné, PhD ELTE Dr. Tamás Kurimay, Psychiatrist, PhD, St. John Hospital Secretary: Dr. Mónika Viszket Kissné, PhD ELTE Members: Dr. Piroska Komlósi, PhD, KGRE Prof. Dr. Ferenc Túry, PhD, SOTE Prof. Dr. Katalin Varga, PhD ELTE Budapest, July, 2014.
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Loránd Eötvös Scientific University, Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology
Theses of the Doctoral dissertation
Mrs. Zsuzsanna Kozéki-Hammer
ASSESSMENT OF THE COUPLE RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION IN A
SYSTEMIC FRAMEWORK
Doctoral School of Psychology
Head of the Doctoral School: Prof. Dr. György Hunyady, PhD, member of MTA
Personality and Health Psychology Doctoral Program
Head of Program: Prof. Dr. Attila Oláh Attila, university lecture
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Attila Oláh Attila, PhD
Members of the appraisal committee:
Head: Prof. Dr. Márta Fülöp, PhD ELTE
Reviewers: Dr. Adrien Rigó Pigniczkiné, PhD ELTE
Dr. Tamás Kurimay, Psychiatrist, PhD, St. John Hospital
Secretary: Dr. Mónika Viszket Kissné, PhD ELTE
Members: Dr. Piroska Komlósi, PhD, KGRE
Prof. Dr. Ferenc Túry, PhD, SOTE
Prof. Dr. Katalin Varga, PhD ELTE
Budapest, July, 2014.
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1. PROBLEM BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH
The subject of couple psychology has assumed an increasingly prominent position in both
domestic and international research. It is indisputable that a well-functioning, long-time
marriage and harmonic family life are essential (Campbell, 1981), not only for individual
happiness, but also for the family unit (and in addition, for the economy, health insurance and
the society as well). A couple relationship that ensures lasting satisfaction significantly
contributes to the healthy bodily and emotional development of members living in the family,
since it is the factor that creates, maintains and defines family cohabitation (Goldenberg,
Goldenberg, 2008). The development of forms of family cohabitation are caused by changes in
couple relationship to a significant extent. A happy and satisfied couple relationship is able to
ensure maintenance of the beneficial functioning of the family unit, while an unhappy,
dissatisfied and dysfunctional couple relationship may result in family cohabitation ridden with
lasting conflicts, or even in divorce (Chay, Zarei, Pour, 2014).
Any stuckness in the functioning of couple relationships can be relatively easily described
by the concepts of the structural family therapy school and can be modified by the
transformation of the structure. However, the structural family therapy approach focusing on
interpersonal relationships does not provide a long-term solution for every problem related to
couple relationships. From a therapeutic point of view, in order to release the stuckness
affecting or arising from couple relationships it may be necessary (Minuchin, 2005), in addition
to the exploration of the structural features registered in the present, to know the intrapsychic
characteristics of both persons constituting the couple, and within that, their individual past
(Amatoo és Booth, 2001). According to the experiences of the author, the boundaries, the
subsystems, the hierarchy are influenced, on the one hand, by the adult attachment patterns, on
the other hand, by the contents of the cognitive structures controlling the thinking of persons
living in couple relationships, together with self-esteem. The high level of similarity between
childhood and adulthood attachment patterns enables us to explore the origin of the adult
attachment patterns registered in the present (Hazan, Shaver, 1987; Hadházi, Vargha, 2010).
The cognitive contents are incorporated into the cognitive structures of the child primarily
through the verbal expressions of the parents and determine (Young et al, 2010), also later in
life, the interpretation and incorporation of the information coming from various sources
concerning the child himself (Collins és Read, 1990; Mikulincer és Shaver, 2003), his
environment, future and relationships with others (Tringer, Mórotz 1985). The triad of the
safety/uncertainty of the relationship, the selection of information coming from the outside
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world and self-esteem, also rooted in childhood (Satir, Banmen, Gerber, Gömöri 2006), jointly
determine in the adult couple relationship the boundaries separating the individual subsystems,
the cohesion to be measured in the couple relationship and, as a response to changes, the
measure of flexibility. These show a correlation with the measure of satisfaction of men and
women living in couple relationships about their couple relationships, the measure of closeness
and flexibility between spouses. The roots of stuckness registered in the present in couple
relationships are often to be found in uncertain patterns of attachment that affect lasting
relationships and are activated in stressful situations (Bartholomew and Horowitz, 1991), as
well as in maladaptive schemes that significantly affect thinking and through that, feelings
(Unoka, 2004), and in low self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965; Johnson, 2008). It is with this
integrative approach that I applied to assess the issue of satisfaction in couple relationships,
primarily focusing on the structural family therapy school built on the foundations of the
systemic approach, within the object relationship family therapy approach, attachment theory,
furthermore, the approach of schema therapy developed from the cognitive therapeutic
approach.
The assessment of the couple relationship, understanding of its working, is important for me
for the feasibility of a satisfied and enduring family cohabitation having its roots in couple
relationship.
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH
In the literature the quality of marriage has been described using concepts of happiness,
harmony, satisfaction and adaptation. The term couple relationship satisfaction is used for the
general, comprehensive assessment of marriage, which indicates (Kurdek and Schmitt, 1986;
Hinde, 1997) the extent to which individual needs, expectations and desires are satisfied in
marriage, and is a strong indicator of the length, success and stability of the relationship
(Anderson and Emmers-Sommer 2006). Although couple relationship satisfaction is a
subjective indicator, since the two parties in the relationship may assess satisfaction with the
marriage differently (Bagdy and Telkes, 1986), furthermore, it is exposed to the impact of
several factors simultaneously, therefore the results of the measurement should rather be
interpreted as guidance, I still seek to assess it.
Salvador Minuchin (1985), father of structural family therapy, considers the family a system
operating in a defined social environment, which can be characterized by three major attributes.
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(1) The family has a structure characteristic of an open socio-cultural system in transformation;
(2) it undergoes various stages of development, which requires recurring restructuring,
furthermore, (3) it adapts to the changing environmental conditions, in order to maintain its
continuity and ensure the psychosocial development of its members.. The family system
consists of and performs its functions through subsystems. In my research, of the subsystems of
individuals, spouses, children and parents, I examine the individual and spousal subsystems.
Subsystems within the family are sided by borders varying according to permeability, which
determines the measure of closeness that may be experienced within the subsystems. The
function of the borders is to ensure the differentiation of the system compared to other systems
and subsystems (Kurimay, 2001). Olson, Stewart, Wilson (1991) created the Circumplex model
showing a large overlap with the structural family therapy approach, the purpose of which was
to establish a bridge between the theory and practice of family therapy research (Kisgyörgyné,
Pongrácz, Mirnics, Bagdy, et al. 2006). Olson (2000) also interprets the family as a complex
system, a dynamically changing unit. According to his model (Olson, 1995), a system in
balance, within that the couple relationship subsystem can be characterized by a high level of
cohesion, flexibility, open and rich communication and successful problem solving, which
generates a higher level of well-being and satisfaction. In my research I have defined couple
relationship satisfaction in the context of structural elements.
In addition to structural attributes, couple relationship satisfaction is also related to other
factors. Gödri (2001) identified those variables according to objective and subjective aspects
that affect the satisfaction of the couple relationship. I took this classification as a starting point
when I grouped the variables that I wanted to measure, supplementing this with new aspects.
In my research, in order to explore the couple relationship subsystem, I have examined, in
addition to demographic data characteristic of the individual subsystems constituting the
spousal subsystem, the personality type of the individuals constituting the couple, the measure
of the anxious and depressive moods characterizing them, the coping methods, the measure of
self-esteem, within the framework of the object relationship theory, the attachment style, and
concerning the schema theory, the pattern of maladaptive schemas determining thinking. I have
assessed couple relationship satisfaction not only as an output variable, but also in the
Investment Model of Rusbult (Rusbult, Martz, Agnew, 1998), as the input variable of the
commitment predicting lasting relationships, together with the characteristics of investment and
alternatives outside the relationship.The verification of my own hypothetical model constitutes
a central part of my research, in which, in addition to structural variables, the triad of attachment
style, maladaptive schemas and self-esteem also have an important role.
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3. EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT
3.1. The objectives and structure of the examination
The general aim of the examination constituting the subject of this thesis is to provide an
integrative type definition of couple relationship satisfaction from several aspects, through the
exploration of its predictive factors, in a systemic framework. The cross-sectional research was
made up of three parts.
1) In the first part we focused on members of the couple as individuals and as a
couple. The differences between the demographic and psychological variables of men
and women constituting the couple relationship have been identified, then we examined
the correlation of the couple relationship satisfaction of the given spouse and the closely
related structural and psychological characteristics of his/her own with the spouse’s own
demographic and psychological attributes, then in comparison to the demographic and
psychological attributes of the partner of the spouse. The assessment persons under
examination in couples constitutes part of this chapter, by the calculation of joint
indicators. We have created the joint indicators by the split up of the individual
indicators according to category, which enables, in addition to the exploration of the
relations, the observation of the patterns of the relationship.
Following the argumentation of the theoretical chapter, the demographic and
psychological attributes have been assigned to the following groups:
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