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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
Previous research on law enforcement officers has not included studies of marital relationships from the spouse perspective, and tend to focus on workplace-based manifestations of stress and other health issues. This study fills a gap in current research by surveying police wives about their personal experiences of marriage to law enforcement officers, and mental health as it relates to themselves and their husbands. We examined the association of mental health stigma with marital quality in a sample of 969 police wives. We found a significant negative association between wives’ perceptions of police officers’ mental health stigma and marital quality, and additionally that wife characteristics of positive emotion and reappraisal are positively associated with marital quality, but do not act as moderators. We also discussed methods of reducing negative impacts of mental health stigma on marital quality, specifically mandatory police officer counseling and marital quality interventions.
The human experience is driven by the desire for intimacy through interpersonal relationships, and one group in which this desire comes to fruition is the legally binding union of marriage. Through a literature review on the history of marriage, it is evident that the primary motivator for people to marry has changed over time, making the structure of marriage an evolving relationship on a societal and personal level. Shifting from economics to social class to religion, the motivating need for marriage in Western, 21st century society has now become a desire for happiness. Given this, this project is a synthesis of different psychological and sociological theories and studies that provide the key correlates of marriage satisfaction within individual differences, relational processes, and external context. Being happy together within a legally binding relationship is not always an easy task, but with the right knowledge on what truly correlates towards higher marital satisfaction, it is possible for couples to learn what can help them thrive.
Inside of evangelicalism, there are many young adults frustrated with dating. Generally, they are taught to go to the Bible for answers. However, when they find no explicit roadmap to figure out how to get to marriage, they are left confounded in their romantic pursuits. How is one supposed to figure out if they are ready to marry, and how shall they know when they find someone they should consider for marriage? And who gets to speak into these habits and the beliefs that undergird their outworking? This paper explores such questions through interviews with couples, both dating and married. The interviews are compared and contrasted. The patterns that emerge from each interview are put into conversation with the other interviews. The findings expound on the overlap of the interviews and note degrees of resonance and dissonance between them. The implications of the themes are then outlined, best practices for the premarital experience are briefly noted, and areas for further study are identified.