How Does Geographical Distance between Married Couples Matter? Analysis of Domains of Marital Conflict and Resolution Styles

Abstract

Conflicts are an inescapable part of every relationship. Between married people, conflicts are not necessarily destructive since they provide valuable clues that show the growing edges of the relationship and the areas that need to be worked on for making it richer and deeper. Hence, the key to successful marital relationship is not to avoid conflicts but learn how to effectively deal with them. Geographical distance between married partners is likely to influence the relationship dynamics and strategies of conflict resolution. Holding onto this thought, the present study was undertaken to identify the common areas of conflict and strategies to resolve them among Living Apart Together Couples (LATC) and Proximal couples (PC). The sample comprised of a total of 150 heterosexual couples (75 LATC and 75 PC) drawn through snowball sampling technique from Distt. Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. Both, husbands’ and wives’ responses on their areas of conflict and strategies of resolution were recorded using self-structured and standardized tools respectively. Mixed methods of data collection were used in the present study namely mail questionnaire, face to face and telephonic interviews. Findings reveal almost similar patterns and frequency of conflicts in all domains of marriage among LATC and PC. However, LATC and PC slightly differed on their conflict resolution strategies. LATC were seen to adopt separation strategy and PC practiced avoidance strategy significantly more to resolve conflict with their marriage partners. Conflict resolution strategies like compromise, interactional reactivity, domination and submission were seen to be equally prevalent among the two groups under study.