The Correlation Between Self-Differentiation and the Quality of Retrospectively Assessed Parental Relationships with Marital Satisfaction in Married Persons

Abstract

There are many studies examining the relationship between the quality of parentʼs relationships and satisfaction with marriage, but there are still few that examine this relationship based on Bowenʼs family systems theory. The study sought to determine the relationship between retrospectively evaluated parental relationships, self-differentiation, and satisfaction with oneʼs own marriage, based on Bowen's theory. The sample size of the study was 384, but during the study, during a questionnaire survey, 218 respondents were interviewed (77.52 pct. women), so the study is evaluated as exploratory. The research questionnaire was composed according to the Scale of Quality of Parental Relationships, the Self-Differentiation Scale, and the Satisfaction with Couple Relationships Scale. Pearsonʼs correlation coefficient was calculated for data analysis between the dependent variable (marriage satisfaction) and independent variables (quality of parent’s relationships, self-differentiation). The Studentʼs t-test was applied for comparing two samples, and ANOVA was applied for comparing more than two samples. The study found a positive, weak, statistically significant relationship between the quality of parent's relationships and satisfaction with marriage. A negative, weak, statistically significant relationship was found between self-differentiation and satisfaction with marriage. The dimension influencing satisfaction with marriage was emotional detachment (negative, moderate, statistically significant relationship). A negative, very weak, statistically insignificant relationship was found between the quality of parent's relationships and self-differentiation.