COPING WITH MARITAL STRAIN IN INDIA

The author investigates in the present paper culturally motivated, specific conflict patterns in Indian marriages, related to religious hinduistic tradition and changing socio-economic conditions. 125 middle class married couples were interviewed, using modified-test scales to assess factors influencing marital strain, as well as their corresponding encounter strategies. The results, factor analysed and related to sex-specific coping, show the double impact of Indian society: in its traditionally restrictive handling of women, but also the integrating function of its joint family system. The study presents a coherent transcultural picture of Indian marriage against the background of a changing, but still conservative society.