Perceived antecedents of marital satisfaction among Turkish, Turkish-Dutch, and Dutch couples

Abstract

We studied mainstream couples in The Netherlands and Turkey as well as Turkish-Dutch immigrant couples to address cultural factors associated with marital satisfaction. A total of 13 Turkish (mainstream couples living in Turkey), 19 Turkish-Dutch (Turkish immigrant couples living in The Netherlands), and 17 Dutch (mainstream couples living in The Netherlands) married dyads (total of 98 individuals) were independently interviewed about positive and negative characteristics of marriages, determinants of general marital satisfaction and dissatisfaction, spousal communication, marital conflict, and marital roles. Multivariate tests revealed ethnic group differences on all marriage-related domains except the conflict resolution strategies. However, univariate analyses showed differences in few themes within domains; main differences were assessed between the Turkish/Turkish-Dutch (who put more emphasis on children and economical aspects) and Dutch couples (who put more emphasis on behavior, and personality of the spouse, reciprocity, emotional sharing, and psychological roles). Turkish-Dutch couples were more similar to Turkish than to Dutch couples. Results were discussed in light of the socioeconomic development and cultural value theories, which are believed to provide a useful framework for understanding the role of culture in marital satisfaction.

Keywords:

• Acculturation
• Marital satisfaction
• The Netherlands
• Turkey
• Turkish-Dutch

Notes

The authors would like to express thanks to Itziar Alonso-Arbiol for her helpful feedback. Additionally, we would like to thank Carmen Sep, Iren Yeresyan, Petrus A. Reijn, and Zeyneb Kabak for their contribution to data collection and coding.