הקשר בין שוויוניות לבין עוינות ביחסי הזוגיות: ניתוח משווה בין גברים לנשים

Background: The normative changes that have taken place in our time are affecting the spousal relationship, including a change toward an egalitarian lifestyle.Aims: To test the relationship between egalitarianism and spousal undermining. Undermining behavior refers to negative aspects of spousal relationships such as unpleasant behavior, criticism, insulting, psychological lowering, envy, and behavior that causes the partner to feel unwanted or rejected. Egalitarianism in couplehood was tested using three measures: egalitarianism in gender role attitudes, egalitarianism in the family’s livelihood, and egalitarianism in the division of household tasks. Another aim was to test whether different aspects of couplehood (as tested by conflict resolution patterns and closeness between the partners) mediate the association between the egalitarianism measures and spousal undermining.Method: The research sample included 313 participants (145 men, and 168 women) who are in a permanent spousal relationship. The research data were collected through online questionnaires, and data processing was performed via path analysis.Findings: Among men, greater egalitarianism in gender role attitudes was related to higher appraisal of the quality of the spousal relationship. Furthermore, among men, the women’s income advantage (compared to a situation of equality in income between the partners) was related to a low sense of closeness to the partner, and this, in turn, was related to a high level of spousal undermining. Among women, the woman’s income advantage (compared to a situation of equality in income between the partners) was related to women’s use of aggressive patterns for resolving conflicts in couplehood, and these in turn were related to the experience of spousal undermining.Conclusions: Egalitarianism in couplehood is related to higher quality relationships among both genders. This trend is more prominent among men than among women.Practical recommendations: Marital therapists should reflect the contribution of adopting an egalitarian lifestyle to the quality of spousal relationships, and should adapt their professional interventions uniquely to each gender.