Interpersonal Dominance in Marital Relationships and Its Relation with Marital Satisfaction

Abstract

The concept of Dominance has always carried a conflict within itself, of whether it is a trait, or a behavioral characteristic. Dunbar (1998) postulates his “Interactionist Perspective”, which suggests that dominance is neither just a result of genetic predisposition, nor only a dynamic behaviour, but an interaction between the two. Thus, interpersonal dominance in relationships is the product of actor characteristics and situational factors. The present study aimed to understand the concept and expression of this interpersonal dominance in marital relationships and its relation with marital satisfaction, within the Indian context. For the same, 20 heterosexual Indian married couples were chosen, and the study followed a Mixed Method Design. For the quantitative analysis, a correlational design was followed, whereas the qualitative data was subject to Thematic Analysis. The results showed that there was a low negative correlation between interpersonal dominance and marital satisfaction, while the following themes emerged from qualitative analysis the dataset-A) Perception of Dominance, B) Indicators of Dominance, C) Process of Decision Making, D) Experiencing Marital Satisfaction, E) Relation of Dominance with Marital Satisfaction.