A Study on Reconstruction of the Marital Relationship and of Social Relationships in Late Middle-Aged Stage

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In 2000, once a standard of reconstruction of the marital relationship was drawn up, along with gaining a grasp of the circumstances of reconstruction, the primary factors influencing it were made clear. In 2001, 13 persons from the 2000 study were chosen as subjects. Through investigative interviews, an understanding was gained of the relevance of marital crises in the histories of spouses who had been married for thirty to forty years, as well as what kind of resources were drawn on for crisis resolution. In 2002, the nature of personal networks and the emotional integration of couples and their relevance to well-being were revealed. In 2003, the cases investigated in 2001 were analyzed by applying the double ABC-X model (McCubbin, H.L.), but since it was judged that the information was insufficient, follow-up investigative interviews were carried out.The major findings are as follows.(1)Common to husband and wife, the primary factors influencing the reconstruction of the marital relationship were "whether or not the couple have friends in common," "the nature of connubial relations," "the relationship between the husband's mother and the wife (mother-in-law daughter-in-law relationship)," and "individualization of the spouses." "The individualization of the spouses" has a negative relationship to the reconstruction, while the other factors have a positive relationship.(2)Common to husband and wife, the scope of the personal network and the number of those with whom the couple associates as a unit are recognized as having a positive relationship to the couple's emotional integration. Furthermore, while the size of the network is a major factor affecting the wellbeing of husbands, no such relationship is recognized in the case of wives.