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Related Experiment Videos

Moving beyond gender: processes that create relationship equality.

Carmen Knudson-Martin1, Anne Rankin Mahoney

  • 1Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda University, California 92350, USA. Cknudsonmartin@mft.llu.edu

Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
|June 25, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Achieving relationship equality is challenging. This study identifies three couple types and factors like gender awareness and active negotiation that help couples move toward greater equality.

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Area of Science:

  • Sociology
  • Family Studies
  • Gender Studies

Background:

  • Relationship success is linked to equality, yet it remains elusive for many couples.
  • Understanding how couples achieve equality is crucial for relationship well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how couples with children, across two distinct time cohorts (1982 and 2001), navigated the path toward achieving greater equality in their relationships.
  • To identify distinct patterns of couple types and the facilitators of movement towards equality.

Main Methods:

  • Qualitative study analyzing couples with children from two time cohorts (1982 and 2001).
  • Identification of three couple typologies: Postgender, gender legacy, and traditional.

Main Results:

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  • Three couple types identified: Postgender, gender legacy, and traditional.
  • Movement toward equality is driven by stimuli such as gender awareness, commitment to family and work, and situational pressures.
  • Change is further promoted by active negotiation, challenging gender entitlement, developing new competencies, and mutual attention to relationship and family tasks.

Conclusions:

  • Couples' movement toward equality is a dynamic process influenced by both internal and external factors.
  • Understanding these facilitators can inform interventions aimed at promoting equitable relationships.
  • The findings offer insights for therapists and counselors working with couples on achieving greater balance.