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This is to certify that the
dissertation entitled

ECOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE MARITAL
RELATIONSHIPS OF CHINESE INTERNATIONAL
GRADUATE STUDENTS

presented by

JAIME D. GOFF

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for the

PhD. degree in Family and Child Ecology

 

’MUWLLT W1 Kid.

Major Professor’s Signature
7 ., 52 a » a ‘7‘

Date

MSU is an Afﬁrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

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LIBRARY '

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University

 

 

 

PLACE IN RETURN Box to remove this checkout from your record.
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6/01 cJCIRClDanDuopss-p. 15

ECOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS OF
CHINESE INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS

By

Jaime D. Goff

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Family and Child Ecology

2004

ABSTRACT

ECOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS OF
CHINESE INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS

By

Jaime D. Goff

A grounded-theory qualitative study based on ecological and feminist theory was
conducted to determine the inﬂuence of ecological factors on the marital relationships of
Chinese international graduate students. Ten Chinese couples from a university in the
southern United States participated in both conjoint and individual interviews.
Participants were asked questions about the inﬂuences of the natural physical-biological
environment, the social cultural environment, and the human built environment. To
triangulate the qualitative data, participants also completed a Demographic
Questionnaire, the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised, the Suinn-Lew Asian Self
Identity Acculturation Scale, and the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2. The social cultural
environment was found to be the most inﬂuential in the lives of participants. In the
microsystem, problem-solving, affection, spousal support, and spousal separation were
found to be most inﬂuential. In the mesosystem, the most inﬂuential factors were family,
friends, and the presence of children. Inﬂuential factors in the exosystem included time
together because of graduate school and relationships with professors and advisors.
Inﬂuential macrosystem factors were found to be language, relationship expectations,
Western inﬂuence, gender, and Communism. A theoretical model of adjustment was

developed based on these results.

This dissertation is dedicated to my husband, Eric, whose love, patience, and ﬂexibility
have sustained our marriage throughout the experience of graduate school.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the many people who have supported
me throughout the process of writing this dissertation. First, I am deeply grateful to those
who took time out of their busy schedules to participate in this research. I feel blessed to
have been entrusted with their stories, and I hope the way in which they are presented
does justice to their rich experiences. Second, I would like to thank Dr. Marsha Carolan
for her insight and assistance in the design and preparation of this study. I would also like
to offer my appreciation to my other committee members, Dr. Joanne Keith, Dr. Esther
Onaga, and Dr. Denise Saint Amault, for their dedication to qualitative research and their
desire to better understand diverse families. Third, I would like to thank Karen Slaymaker
for her assistance in the recruitment of participants. Finally, I am indebted to my
husband, Eric, and to my family for providing support without which I would never have

made it this far.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................... vii
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................... viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ................. . ......................................... 2
Importance of the Research ........................................................ 3
Conceptual Map ..................................................................... 4
Theoretical Foundations ............................................................ 7
Ecological Theory .......................................................... 7
Feminist Theory ............................................................ 10
Research Questions .................................................................. 12
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .................................. 17
Ecological Factors Affecting Marital Relationships ............................. 17
Individual Factors Affecting the Marital Relationship ................. 1 8
Microsystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship ................... 2]
Mesosystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship .................... 23
Exosystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship ..................... 26
Macrosystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship .................. 29
Marriage in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Culture ............................. 30
The Traditional View of Marriage ......................................... 31
The Modern View of Marriage ............................................. 32
Romantic Love in Marriage ................................................ 35
Preferences in Marital Partners ............................................. 36
The Impact of Graduate School on Mental and Relational Health ............. 38
Graduate School and Relational Health ................................... 39
Graduate School and Mental Health ....................................... 41
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................... 43
Qualitative Methodology ............................................................. 43
Researcher as Instrument and Researcher Reﬂexivity ............................ 43
Sampling Procedures .................................................................. 45
Data Collection ......................................................................... 47
Triangulation .................................................................. 48
Research Questions and Interview Questions ...................................... 52
Data Analysis ........................................................................... 58
Coding Procedures ............................................................ 59
Analysis of Quantitative Data ....................................................... 62
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS ............................................................... 64
Sample Demographics ................................................................ 64

Research Question #1: Inﬂuence of Natural Environment ..................... 67
Research Question #2: Inﬂuence of Social-Cultural Enviromnent . . . . .....69

Inﬂuence of Macrosystem .................................................. 69
Inﬂuence of Exosystem ..................................................... 78
Inﬂuence of Mesosystem ................................................... 81
Inﬂuence of Microsystem ................................................... 89
Inﬂuence of Individual Factors ............................................ 96
Research Question #3: Inﬂuence of Human Built Environment ............... 98
Size of City/Population ...................................................... 98
Transportation ................................................................ 99
Link between Natural & Human Built Environments .................. 100
Analysis of Quantitative Data ....................................................... 101
Analysis of MSl-R Data ..................................................... 101
Analysis of SL-ASIA Data ................................................. 116
Analysis of OQ 45.2 Data ................................................... 118
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ............................................................ 120
Theoretical Implications: Ecological Theory ....................................... 120
Natural Environment ......................................................... 122
Social Cultural Environment ................................................ 122
Human Built Environment ................................................... 133
Theoretical Implications: Feminist Theory .......................................... 134
Emergent Theoretical Map ............................................................ 135
Context .......................................................................... 136
Conditions ...................................................................... 1 36
Causes ........................................................................... 139
Consequences .................................................................. 140
Contingencies .................................................................. 141
Clinical Implications ................................................................... 141
Implications for University Communities ........................................... 142
Limitations of Study .................................................................... 144
Suggestions for Further Research ..................................................... 146
Conclusion ............................................................................... 147
APPENDICES .................................................................................... 149
Appendix A: Informed Consent Form ................................................ 150
Appendix B: Original Interview Schedule ............................................ 152
Appendix C: Demographic Questionnaire ............................................ 156
Appendix D: MSI-R Questions Listed by Subscale ................................ 158
Appendix E: SL—ASIA .................................................................. 162
Appendix F: OQ 45.2 .................................................................... 167
REFERENCES .................................................................................... 169

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Triangulation of Research Questions with Quantitative Instruments. . . . . .......48
Table 3.2: Research Question #1 and Interview Questions ................................... 53
Table 3.3: Research Question #2 and Interview Questions .................................. 54
Table 3.4: Research Question #3 and Interview Questions .................................. 58
Table 3.5: Axial Coding Categories & Subcategories ........................................ 61
Table 4.1: Summary of Demographic Variables Reported by Individual Participants. . .66
Table 4.2: Participant Pseudonyms & Gender ................................................. 67
Table 4.3: Length of Time in United States & Length of Marriage ........................ 96
Table 4.4: Participants’ Descriptions of Personality .......................................... 97
Table 4.5: Means & Standard Deviations of MSI-R Subscales ............................. 102
Table 4.6: MSI-R Subscales & Interview Questions ......................................... 105
Table 4.7: Comparison of Couple #1 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores .................. 106
Table 4.8: Comparison of Couple #2 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores ................... 107
Table 4.9: Comparison of Couple #3 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores ................... 108
Table 4.10: Comparison of Couple #4 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores .................. 109
Table 4.1]: Comparison of Couple #5 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores .................. 110
Table 4.12: Comparison of Couple #6 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores .................. 111
Table 4.13: Comparison of Couple #7 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores .................. 112
Table 4.14: Comparison of Couple #8 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores .................. 113
Table 4.15: Comparison of Couple #9 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores .................. 114
Table 4.16: Comparison of Couple #10 Verbal Reports & MSI-R Scores ................ 116

vii

Table 4.17: Means & Standard Deviations for SL-ASIA by
Gender & Student Status ......................................................................... 117

Table 4.18: Means & Standard Deviations for OQ 45.2 by
Gender & Student Status ......................................................................... 118

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Conceptual Map ...................................................................... 6
Figure 5.1: Revised Conceptual Map ........................................................... 121
Figure 5.2: Theoretical Model of Adjustment for International Student Couples ........ 137

ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

The primary focus of this dissertation was to understand how ecological factors
inﬂuence the marital relationships of Asian international graduate students and their
spouses. While research with American couples has veriﬁed the inﬂuence of these factors
on the marital relationship, research examining these factors among international
populations is lacking. Research examining the marital relationship of international
graduate students does not exist, and research on other groups of international sojoumer
couples is scant. The central goal of this study was to investigate the experience of the
marital relationships of East Asian international graduate students. It was necessary to
fulﬁll this goal because the knowledge gained from such an investigation will assist
marriage and family therapists to be more competent providers of therapeutic services for
Asian-born couples.

Chapter One offers an introduction to the study, including a statement of the
problem and the importance of the research. In addition, conceptual and theoretical
foundations are discussed. Ecological theory and feminist theory, which serve as the
primary theories guiding this study, are discussed with regard to their relevance for this
study. In Chapter Two, a review of the literature is offered with a focus on previous
research regarding inﬂuences on the marital relationship, marital structure in Asian
culture, and the effects of graduate school on both couples and individuals. Chapter Three
reviews the qualitative methodology used in addition to important issues in qualitative
research. Chapter Four presents the results of the study, while Chapter Five provides a

discussion and theoretical and clinical implications.

Statement of the Problem

While approximately half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, it is
a relatively new phenomenon in Asian countries. Divorce rates are, however, on the rise.
For example, while the divorce rate in China in 1981 was only 5%, it had increased to
12% by 1996 (Cowley, Laris, & Hager, 1996), and the divorce rate in Japan is 20%
(Steinberg, Kruckman, & Steinberg, 2000). While the acceptance of divorce has had
beneﬁts, especially for women, it has also brought about social consequences in Western
countries where it is more prevalent. For the spouses, such consequences include
increased risk for mental illness (Bloom, Asher, & White, 1978), increased incidence of
physical illness and suicide (Bloom et al., 1978), and decreased life-span (Berkman &
Breslow, 1983). Children also suffer consequences ﬁ'om the marital distress of their
parents including depression, withdrawal, poor social competence, health problems, poor
academic performance, and behavior problems (Gottman, 1999). In the United States, the
incidence of divorce has been associated with decreased marital satisfaction (Gottman,
1999), which often occurs in conjunction with an increase of stressors in the life of the
married couple. Graduate school may be one of those stressors, and the addition of a new
cultural environment may bring substantial stress to international students and their
families.

Little attention in marital research has been paid to the unique experiences of
international graduate students and their spouses. F orei gn-born students between the ages
of 19 and 24 who are attending American universities are 30% more likely than native
students to be married (US Census Bureau, 2003). In addition, international students

make up 16% of all students enrolled in American graduate schools (US Census Bureau,

2003). While research has been conducted on psychosocial factors inﬂuencing graduate
student marriages, the international student population has been neglected. Despite the
extensive research on marriage in the United States, these ﬁndings do not provide
accurate information about the marriages of foreign-bom people living in the United
States while remaining citizens of another country. International graduate students may
experience double jeopardy regarding the marital relationship. Not only do they
experience the normal stressors of graduate school, but they must also deal with living in
a cultural environment that is different than their culture of origin. In order to better
understand and serve international graduate students and their families, the next logical
step was to investigate ecological factors inﬂuencing the marital relationships of this
population.
Importance of the Research

Asian-born students, who account for 260 thousand of the international students
in the United States (US. Census Bureau, 2003), were the targeted participants for this
study. There were three important reasons to examine the marital relationships of this
population. First, research has shown that those from Asian cultures oﬁen express mental
or relational distress as physical ailments (Lim, 2000), and those who are less
acculturated are less likely to seek professional psychological or relational help (Atkinson
& Gim, 1989). In order to reduce the costs of unnecessary medical care and to address
these problems more appropriately through mental health services, research must be
conducted that increases knowledge in this area. Second, in an increasingly diverse social
environment, marriage and family therapists must be competent in serving diverse

populations. Third, despite the inevitable stress international graduate students

experience, more of them complete their doctoral studies (54% of international students
vs. 50% of American students) in less time (6.1 vs. 7.2 years) (Espenshade & Rodriguez,
1997). Studying this population may provide important information regarding how to
buffer all graduate students against stress. This study is innovative in that studies on the
marital relationships of international graduate students have not previously been
conducted. It is expected that the ﬁndings of this study will assist marriage and family
therapists in their clinical practice with Asian-bom clients. In addition, the ﬁndings of
this study will help to reduce the costs of unnecessary medical treatment. The knowledge
gained in this study may also be valuable to universities as they strive to provide services
to international students and their families.
Conceptual Map

Included in this chapter is a conceptual map (Figure 1.1) that shows the
hypothesized reciprocal inﬂuence of the ecological environment and the marital
relationships of international graduate students. While the focus of the study is the
inﬂuence of ecological factors on the marriage, it is important to note that the married
couple may also have a profound inﬂuence on the environments in which they exist. The
map displays the marital relationship embedded within the three primary environments
affecting families: (1) the natural physical-biological environment; (2) the social-cultural
environment; and (3) the human built environment (Bubolz & Sontag, 1993). There are
several levels to the social-cultural environment as displayed in the Conceptual Map.
Those layers consist of the individual, the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem,
and the macrosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997). It is

hypothesized that the natural physical-biological and human-built environments may

have less of an inﬂuence on the marital relationship than the social-cultural environment.
As a result, the inﬂuence of these two environments is indicated with a white arrow. It is
expected that the subsystems of the social-cultural environment will be more inﬂuential.
Within the social cultural environment, the individual, the microsystem, and the
mesosytem are expected to be moderately inﬂuential, so they are indicated with gray
arrows. The most salient inﬂuences are expected to be graduate school in the exosystem
and culture and gender in the macrosystem. These subsystems are shown with black

arrows to emphasize their inﬂuence.

 

 

 

 

 

   

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Theoretical Foundations
Ecological Theory

The primary theory guiding this study was human ecological theory (Bubolz &
Sontag, 1993; Bronfenbrenner, 1979). According to Bubolz and Sontag (1993), there are
three primary environments that affect the family. These environments are the natural
physical—biological environment, the social-cultural environment, and the human built
environment. The natural physical-biological environment consists of components such
as the atmosphere, climate, soil, plants, and animals as they exist unaltered in nature.
Components of the human built environment include roads, cultivated land, buildings,
and material artifacts. The social-cultural environment has three primary components: (1)
the presence of other human beings; (2) cultural constructions; and (3) social and
economic institutions (Bubolz & Sontag, 1993). Each of these three environments may
serve as a stressor or a resource to families. While the inﬂuence between the family and
these three environments is ultimately reciprocal, this study will focus on the inﬂuence
that the environment has on the marital relationship.

Within the social-cultural environment, this author has found it useful to
incorporate Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) model of the social-cultural environment as existing
of six distinct system levels. These six levels consist of individual factors, the
microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem.
Each of these concepts is discussed in more detail below.

Individual Characteristics A ﬂeeting Development
There are three classes of individual characteristics that inﬂuence developmental

processes: (1) force characteristics, (2) resource characteristics, and (3) demand

characteristics. Force characteristics are deﬁned as “active behavioral dispositions that
can set proximal processes in motion and sustain their operations or interfere with their
occurrence” (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997, p. 1009). There are two types of force
characteristics, those that are developmentally generative and those that are
developmentally disruptive. Developmentally generative characteristics include
responsiveness, engagement, and belief systems. Developmentally disruptive
characteristics, on the other hand, include impulsiveness, distractibility, apathy, lack of
interest in one’s surroundings, and a tendency to withdraw from activity. In other words,
force characteristics are those that make up an individual’s personality.

Resource characteristics are another category of individual characteristics that
affect development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997). Resource characteristics consist of
biopsychological liabilities and assets which inﬂuence the capacity of the developing
person to engage effectively in proximal processes. The biopsychological liabilities in
this category include genetic defects, physical handicaps, severe or persistent illness, or
damage to brain function through accident or degenerative processes. Developmental
assets include knowledge, skill, and experience that extend the domains in which
proximal processes can do constructive work.

Demand characteristics, the third type of individual characteristics inﬂuencing
development, consist of the capacity of the developing human to invite or discourage
reactions from the social environment which can disrupt or foster processes of growth.

These include characteristics such as physical attractiveness and the ability to give cues.

The Microsystem

Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) deﬁnition of a microsystem reads as follows: “a pattern
of activities, roles, and interpersonal relations experienced by the developing person in a
given setting with particular physical and material characteristics” (p. 22). A microsystem
consists of a dyad that must be involved in face-to-face interaction with one another
(Bronfenbrenner, 1989). There are three primary elements to the microsystem
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The ﬁrst element is proximal processes, which are deﬁned as
“progressively more complex reciprocal interactions between an active, evolving
biopsychological human organism and the persons, objects, and symbols in its immediate
external environment” (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997, p. 996). For married couples,
proximal processes may consist of the shared activities that take place between the dyad,
such as problem-solving and decision-making, which contribute to the couple’s
development. The second element is that of role. Roles consist of sets of behaviors and
expectations associated with one’s position in society. The third element, interpersonal
relations, occurs whenever one person in a setting is paying attention to or participating
in the activities of another person.
The Mesosystem

The mesosystem consists of the interrelations between two or more settings of
which the developing person is a part (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). In other words, the
mesosystem is a system of two or more microsystems (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997).
Mesosystems are formed whenever individuals move into new settings. The processes
which operate in these different settings are not independent of each other, but each

setting affects and is affected by the others (Bronfenbrenner, 1986).

The Exosystem

According to Bronfenbrenner (1979), an exosystem consists of “one or more
settings that do not involve the developing person as an active participant, but in which
events occur that affect, or are affected by, what happens in the setting containing the
developing person” (p. 25). For a couple, an exosystem may include the spouse’s place of
work or social network of friends. Bronfenbrenner and Morris (1997) later expanded the
deﬁnition to include not only the settings but also the linkages and processes taking place
between the settings.
The Macrosystem

Macrosystems are the “consistencies, in the form and content of lower-order
systems. . .that exist, or could exist, at the level of the subculture or culture as a whole,
along with any belief systems or ideology underlying such consistencies”
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 26). The deﬁnition was later expanded to include the impact of
developmentally instigative belief systems, resources, hazards, life styles, opportunity
structures, life course options, and patterns of social interchange (Bronfenbrenner, 1989).
The macrosystem is characterized by the sharing in common of these characteristics.
Whenever this condition is met, social classes, ethnic or religious groups, communities,
neighborhoods, and geographical regions may all constitute a macrosystem. The social
construction of gender may also be included as a part of the macrosystem.

Feminist Theory

Feminist theoretical concepts and assumptions form part of the foundation of this

study because of its interest in the inﬂuence of gender and culture. Feminist theory posits

that gender is a fundamental aspect of social relations and generally involves domination

10

and power differentials (Myers Avis & Turner, 1996). Feminist theory has four primary
themes (Goodrich, Rampage, Ellman, & Halstead, 1988; Osmond & Thorn, 1993). The
ﬁrst theme is an emphasis on women (Goodrich et al, 198 8). Feminist theorists are
primarily concerned with promoting the centrality, normality, and value of women’s
experiences (Osmond & Thorne, 1993). The second theme is that of recognizing that
women occupy a subordinate position in society (Goodrich et al., 1988). Third, feminist
theorists are committed to ending unjust subordination of women (Goodrich et al., 1988).
Finally, feminist theorists give attention to gender and gender relations in their research
and clinical practice (Goodrich et al., 1988). They uphold that gender is a concept that is
socially constructed (Osmond & Thorne, 1993). In addition, the differences between men
and women are exaggerated in society. This exaggeration of differences and distinctions
perpetuates the power differentials that exist between men and women (Osmond &
Thorne, 1993).

Feminist theory is particularly relevant to this study because of its emphasis on
hearing the voices of those who are powerless and marginalized by society. Because
those of Asian origin in the United States are often considered to be the model minority,
their voices become difficult to hear amidst the more vocal minority groups. Their
experiences of discrimination and their feelings of powerlessness are therefore leﬁ
unheard. This study aims to give voice to the experiences of a model minority that is
oﬂen ignored. In addition, women from Asian countries are especially silenced. While
traditional gender roles in Western countries such as the United States are often
characterized by themes of domination and power on the part of males in relationships,

recent changes in expectations for intimate relationships have initiated a change in

11

traditional roles. In some Asian countries, however, such as China, Japan, and Korea, the
traditional views regarding the roles of men and women still remain dominant. While this
study focuses on the married couple, special attention will be given to themes of
domination and power.
Research Questions

Because this was an exploratory qualitative study, the research questions guiding
the study were broad and inclusive in nature. The primary research question guiding the
study was: How do ecological factors inﬂuence the marital relationship of East Asian
international graduate students? Within this primary question, however, were several
layers of questions that this study strove to answer. Those questions were as follows:

I. How does the natural physical-biological environment inﬂuence the marital
relationship of East Asian students? It was expected that this environment would
be perceived as having less of an inﬂuence on the marital relationship than the
social-cultural and human built environments. For international students,
however, the natural environment may be inﬂuential because of the difference
between the present environment and the natural environment to which they are
accustomed in their home country. As a result, this environment was included to
allow for the emergence of this environment as important in the reports of the
participants.

2. How does the social-cultural environment inﬂuence the marital relationship of
East Asian students?

a. How do macrosystem factors inﬂuence the marital relationship of East

Asian students? While this system level is often portrayed as being the

12

most removed from the dyad of focus, it was anticipated that macrosystem

factors would be inﬂuential in shaping the experiences of East Asian

married couples. It was expected that the couples’ religious and cultural

heritage would have an important role in shaping the marital relationship.

i.

ii.

Gender: The social construction of gender, both in the culture of
origin and in the current culture in which they exist, was expected
to be inﬂuential. The qualitative data gained regarding gender roles
was triangulated with the Role Orientation Scale of the Marital
Satisfaction Inventory —- Revised (Snyder, 1997).

Culture: It was expected that the cultural customs and beliefs of
international graduate students would have a strong inﬂuence on
the marital relationship. Also, for international students, their
designation as a cultural minority may actually serve as a buffer
against marital stress. For example, many international graduate
students and their families live in university housing complexes
populated primarily by international students. Because of the
collective nature of Asian culture, the couples may form supportive
communities among themselves. These supportive communities
may not be developed by American graduate student couples
because of the culture’s individualistic style. In order to determine
couples’ adherence to their own cultural groups versus acceptance

of the dominant culture, the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity

13

Acculturation Scale (Suinn, Rickard-Figueroa, Lew, & Vigil,
1987) will be given to participants.

b. How do exosystem factors inﬂuence the marital relationship of East Asian
students? As stated previously, the exosystem includes those systemic
inﬂuences of which only one of the spouses is a part. For this study, it was
anticipated that the most inﬂuential exosystem would be the graduate
program of which at least one of the spouses is a part. Graduate school is
often a time of stress for couples and families. International graduate
students, however, may experience double jeopardy because not only do
they have to deal with the normal stressors of graduate school, but they
must also adjust to living in a new culture. It was expected that the lack of
time graduate student couples are able to spend with one another would be
inﬂuential. To triangulate this data, the Time Together subscale of the
Marital Satisfaction Inventory — Revised (Snyder, 1997) was completed by
participants. The work exosystem may also be inﬂuential if one or both
spouses are employed.

0. How do mesosystem factors inﬂuence the marital relationship of East
Asian students? The mesosystem, consisting of systems with which both
marital partners interact, includes inﬂuences such as the couples’ social
support network, their relationships with extended family, and the
neighborhood or community in which they live. Because Eastern cultures
are generally more collective than Western cultures, it was anticipated that

this system will be very inﬂuential on the marital relationship.

14

Quantitatively, the Family History of Distress, Dissatisfaction with
Children, and Conﬂict Over Child-Rearing subscales of the Marital
Satisfaction Inventory — Revised (Snyder, 1997) were used to triangulate
qualitative data regarding familial inﬂuences on one’s marital relationship.
How do microsystem factors inﬂuence the marital relationship of East
Asian students? Each marital dyad has unique characteristics that
inﬂuence the overall positive or negative nature of the relationship. It was
expected that dyadic characteristics such as conﬂict management skills,
interpersonal communication, the role structure of the marital relationship,
perceptions of spousal support, positive affect, and decision-making would
be inﬂuential in determining the spouses’ perceptions of their marital
relationship. Once again, several subscales from the Marital Satisfaction
Inventory — Revised (Snyder, 1997) were utilized to triangulate this data.
Speciﬁcally, the Affective Communication, Problem-Solving
Communication, Aggression, Disagreement about Finances, and Sexual
Dissatisfaction subscales were analyzed.

How do individual factors inﬂuence the marital relationship of East Asian
students? Individual characteristics such as personality, emotional
stability, and physical and/or mental health were expected to contribute to
the quality of the marital relationship. In order to triangulate for individual
factors inﬂuencing the relationship, participants completed the Outcome
Questionnaire-45.2 (Lambert, Hansen, Umpress, Lunnen, Okiishi,

Burlingame, & Reisinger, I996).

15

3. How does the human built environment inﬂuence the marital relationship of East
Asian students? In regards to the human built environment, it was again expected
that this environment would have less of an inﬂuence than the social-cultural
environment. However, environmental components such as the couples’ living
space and the surrounding buildings and structures would have a minor inﬂuence

on the marital relationship.

16

 

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mil

»—-

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

In order to aid in the conceptualization of this study, a review of preliminary
research was conducted. The research literature in four areas was reviewed. Those four
areas included ecological factors affecting marital relationships; marriage in Chinese,
Japanese, and Korean cultures; research on Asian marriages; and the impact of graduate
school on mental and relational health.

Ecological Factors Affecting Marital Relationships

Research focusing on marriage is proliﬁc in the professional literature. Most of
these studies focus on factors affecting the quality of the marital relationship. While these
studies do not usually identify the variables as ecological, most of the variables studied
can be classiﬁed into an ecological category.

The previous review of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory in Chapter 1 has
provided a framework from which to discuss research ﬁndings regarding marital
relationships. In the following paragraphs, these research ﬁndings will be applied to the
theoretical constructs discussed above. Speciﬁcally, ﬁndings will be categorized
according to whether they consist of individual factors, microsystem factors, mesosystem
factors, exosystem factors, or macrosystem factors affecting the marital relationship. It is
important to note that while categorizing research ﬁndings is a practical approach to
drawing conclusions, these categorizations are by no means stationery. Many of the
ﬁndings may ﬁt into multiple system levels. It is hoped that as a result of this study, a
clearer picture of the marital relationships of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean couples will

emerge.

l7

Individual Factors Affecting the Marital Relationship

As stated above, individual factors that affect development include force
characteristics, resource characteristics, and demand characteristics. Force characteristics
may include speciﬁc personality traits that contribute to a person’s ability to form and
maintain intimate relationships, in this case marriage. Resource characteristics that may
contribute to the marital satisfaction include physical disabilities, illness, or degenerative
diseases. This may also include mental illnesses such as depression. Demand
characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, may play a part in an individual spouse’s
ability to maintain the partner’s interest.
Personality

The quality of the marital relationship has been found to be correlated with
personality variables of the individual spouses. On measures of personality characteristics
such as pleasantness, arousability, and dominance, individuals who had a greater
emotional disposition towards pleasantness were more likely to be happy with their
marriages (Blum & Mehrabian, 1999). In addition, those individuals who felt they had
control in their relationships and life circumstances reported higher levels of marital
quality than those who felt controlled and guided by others.

Using selected MMPI items, Dymond (1954) found that couples who were maritally
satisﬁed were more sociable, more capable, and less tense, worried, and shy. In a study of
engaged couples, Udry (1967) discovered that engagements were less likely to be broken
if men perceived their ﬁancés as being more emotionally stable and imaginative and less
unconventional. Lower neuroticism has also been found to be positively related to marital

quality (Terman & Buttenwieser, 1935; Kelly & Conley, 1987).

I8

Physical and Mental Health

The research on health and marital quality is numerous but determining the path by
which they occur is difﬁcult to pinpoint. It is widely known that married men are
typically healthier than single men. The health of married men has not been found to be
related to marital quality. Wives, however, derive health beneﬁts only when the marriage
is satisfactory (Hess & Soldo, 1985; Levenson, Carstensen, & Gottman, 1993). In a study
examining predictors of marital quality and subjective health perceptions, empathic
understanding of their wives and cohesion was predictive of health for men, while
communication and social support were predictive of health for wives (Helvey, 1987).

Having to cope with chronic illness or degenerative disease has become a more

likely occurrence with increased life expectancy. Many older couples ﬁnd their roles in
later life changing from spouse to caregiver. In addition to the physical difficulties
experienced by the spouse who is ill, the caregiving spouse is sometimes leﬂ feeling
isolated and in need of support. In a study of caregiving wives, Wright and Aquilino
(1998) found that the key factor associated with lower levels of caregiving burden and
higher levels of marital happiness was reciprocity of emotional support between the
caregiver and her husband. Coping with illness is most commonly associated with older
couples, but younger couples may also be dealing with chronic illness or disease. When
investigating couples coping with chronic Hepatitis C, Bergman (2001) found that for
patients, fatigue and uncertainty were negatively related to marital quality. For spouses,
the most important variable inﬂuencing the marital relationship was illness demand. For
both partners, feelings of uncertainty and transmission fears predicted levels of marital

quality. Declining health brings about many changes in the marital relationship, often

19

having an adverse effect on marital quality. These adverse effects have been attributed to
changes in ﬁnancial circumstances, shifts in division of household labor, declines in
marital activities, and problematic behavior of the ill spouse (Booth & Johnson, 1994).

Depression has been the most commonly investigated mental health issue as it relates
to the marital relationship. While much of the research on depression and marriage has
focused on wives, Whisman, Weinstock, and Uebelacker (2002) found that marital
dissatisfaction was associated with depressed mood in both husbands and wives. In a
study comparing a group of depressed individuals and a group of chronically depressed
individuals, Riso, Blandino, Hendricks, Grant, and Duin (2002) discovered that while the
two groups were similar in terms of history of divorce and marriage, those in the
chronically depressed group reported signiﬁcantly lower levels of marital quality.
Perceived Physical Attractiveness

Perceived physical attractiveness, and the resulting desirability of spouses, may be a
demand characteristic that affects the marital relationship. In a study of 1053 British
couples, Weisfeld, Russell, Weisfeld, and Wells (1992) discovered that physical
attractiveness of wives was an important factor in the marital satisfaction of husbands.
More speciﬁcally, husbands were more satisﬁed if their wives were moderately more
attractive than they were. Spouses’ ratings of their own physical attractiveness may also
be an important variable in the marital relationship. Ritts and Stein (1995) discovered that
spouses who held negative views of their own physical attractiveness also had partners

who evaluated them negatively. The opposite was also true.

20

Microsystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship

In the context of marriage, microsystems include the proximal processes, roles,
and interpersonal relations that take place between spouses. The proximal processes that
take place between a husband and a wife may include any interchange between them that
inﬂuences the development of their relationship. Proximal processes include the activities
that a couple engages in together. For husbands and wives, the construct of role may play
an important part in the determination of marital satisfaction. This particular concept may
be particularly signiﬁcant today when the boundaries around role expectations for men
and women are becoming blurry. Interpersonal relations in marriage include variables
such as emotional expression, conﬂict resolution, and social support.
Gender-Role Expectations

In a study of two cohorts of couples, one cohort married between 1964 and 1980
and the other cohort married between 1981 and 1997, the reports of the more recent
cohort reﬂected the changing milieu (Rogers & Amato, 2000). The younger cohort
reported more marital discord, but they also reported increased economic and decision-
making power for wives, less traditional gender role attitudes, and increased involvement
for husbands in the home. While retirement is often viewed as a time of increased marital
quality, Myers and Booth (1996) discovered that for husbands, leaving a hi gh-stress job
improved marital quality, but gender role reversals were linked to lower marital quality.

Family professionals sometimes make the assumption that increased equity
between men and women is positive for marriages. Despite this assumption, Baker,

Kiger, and Riley (1996) discovered that women who are full-time homemakers had the

21

highest economic satisfaction, the highest satisfaction with time arrangements in the
relationship, and the highest level of satisfaction with household-task arrangements.
Emotional Expression and Conﬂict Resolution

Expression of negative affect, especially in the context of conﬂict resolution, has
been found to be linked to marital dissatisfaction. Cutrona (1996) discovered that when
compared to nondistressed couples, distressed couples displayed more negative affect and
negative behaviors and less positive affect and positive behaviors. Because marital
conﬂict occurs in relation to another person, each person must be able to handle one’s
own negative emotions in addition to the negative emotions of one’s spouse (Markman,
1991). In a longitudinal study of couples over a 3-year period, Levenson and Gottman
(1985) found that the greatest improvement in the marital relationship occurred when
husbands’ negative affect was not reciprocated by their wives, and wives’ negative affect
was reciprocated by their husbands. Despite the difference between husbands and wives,
a style of conﬂict resolution in which both partners achieve satisfactory resolution must
be created to maintain marital quality (Carstensen, Graff, Levenson, & Gottman, 1996).
According to Greeff and deBruyne (2000) collaborative conﬂict management styles had
the highest correlation with marital quality, while competitive conﬂict management styles
had the highest correlation with marital dissatisfaction. In addition, the tendency of one
spouse to distance during episodes of conﬂict resolution has been associated with lower
assessments of the quality of marriage by both spouses (Ridley, Wilhelm, & Surra, 2001 ).
Social Support

The relationship between marital quality and perceived social support provided by

the spouse appears to differ among men and women. In a longitudinal study of 778

22

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couples, McGonagle, Kessler, and Schilling (1992) found that wives’ perceptions of their
husbands’ support behaviors predicted marital quality three years later. For husbands,
however, this relationshipiwas not signiﬁcant. Despite these ﬁndings, when comparing
support received from ﬁiends, relatives, and spouses, the support of one’s spouse was the
most predictive of marital disagreement frequency.

Julien and Markman (1991) discovered that the relationship between wives’
perceptions of supportive behaviors by their husbands and marital quality was stronger
than it was for husbands. In addition, Acitelli (1992) found that young wives were more
satisﬁed with their marriages and their lives when their husbands attended more to the
marriage. Barbee and colleagues (1993) veriﬁed these ﬁndings. In their study, wives
rated supportive behaviors as more satisfying than husbands did. They point out that
these gender differences may exist because wives may match husbands’ expectations of
marriage so well that it has no effect on husbands’ perceptions of marital quality.

The relationship between marital quality and support for individual and
relationship goals has been investigated by Brunstein, Dangelmayer, and Schultheiss
(1996). When studying 72 couples, they discovered that while the relationship between
marital quality and goal support was signiﬁcant for relationship goal support for women,
men’s marital quality was signiﬁcantly correlated with goal support for both relationship
and individual goals.

Mesosystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship

It is important to note here that variables included in the meso- and exosystems

vary depending on the unit of analysis. For example, the mesosystem consists of multiple

dyads of which one of the spouses is a part. If the wife is the unit of analysis, the

23

mesosystem would consist of her relationships with her ﬁiends, family, and career. The
wife’s mesosystem would not, however, include the inﬂuence of her husband’s
relationships with his ﬁiends, family, or career. Because spouses often share friends and
family, the inﬂuence of social networks will be discussed as a mesosystem inﬂuence with
the awareness that they may also be included as an exosystem inﬂuence. The presence of
children in the family is also considered within this system level.
Social Networks

Social networks have been found to have a signiﬁcant impact on the marital
relationship. Social networks consist of family, ﬁiends, neighbors, and any other
individuals who are perceived to provide support to one or both spouses. Not only may
couples share social networks, but they also increase the size of one another’s networks
by introducing their own ﬁiends and families, thereby contributing social partners who
may not otherwise be available (Lang & Carstensen, 1994). In a sample of both clinical
and volunteer couples, Allgood, Crance, and Agee (1997) found that discussing family
problems with ﬁiends was positively correlated with both marital satisfaction and
stability. Despite this general ﬁnding, however, it was also discovered that while clinical
wives continued to talk with their ﬁiends about family problems, clinical husbands were
less likely to do so. Marital quality has also been found to be related to the number of
friends men and women have. According to Simpson (1990) and Engelkes (1990), men
and women who are satisﬁed with the number of friends they have also reported higher
marital quality. In addition, men and women who reported sharing ﬁiend networks with

each other also reported higher levels of marital quality.

24

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Family is also an important source of support. In a study of 451 rural, White families,
Bryant, Conger, and Meehan (2001) found that the quality of couples’ relationships with
their in-laws predicted the stability, satisfaction, and commitment of wives, while discord
with fathers-in-law predicted husbands’ marital success. Simpson (1990) found that
family relationships were more important to women than to men. Women in his study
reported higher marital quality when they were very close to their in-laws and when they
were able to rely on many family members for advice and help.

The inﬂuence of social networks on marital satisfaction may vary by ethnicity.
While a sample of Puerto Rican men and women enjoyed equally strong social networks,
the women were more strongly connected to family members, while the men were
strongly connected to both family members and people outside of the family (Rogler &
Procidano, 1986). For the wives, there was a signiﬁcant relationship between the strength
of the network and the number of relatives included in the network. In a study of Black
and White newlywed couples, close family ties signiﬁcantly predicted the satisfaction of
Black couples but not of White couples (Timmer, Veroff, & Hatchett, 1996). In addition,
Black couples were less likely to have conﬂict over matters pertaining to family, and they
visited their families more often. Despite these ﬁndings, Black couples perceived fewer
family members who would be able to help if needed.
Presence of Children

Some researchers have determined that marital quality is highest during the
newlywed years and then experiences a drop-off throughout the course of the marriage
(Pineo,l969; White & Booth, 1985). Other research, however, has found that while

marital quality decreases during the early years and after the birth of children (Tucker &

25

Aaron, 1993), it increases again in the later years (Burr, 1970; Guilford & Bengston,
1979; Rollins & Cannon, 1974; Rollins & Feldman, 1970). According to Cowan and
Pape-Cowan (1988), the decrease in marital quality at childbirth is correlated not with the
demands of child rearing but with the return to traditional gender roles during the
transition to parenthood. When children reach adolescence, marital quality has been
found to be related to parental self-esteem and attitudes toward aging and the degree of
closeness between parents and children (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1987). According to
Troll (1985), marital quality does not improve until after the children leave home.
Exosystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship

As stated above, the composition of the exosystem depends on the unit of
analysis, whether the husband or the wife. Following the example used to describe the
mesosystem, if the wife is the unit of analysis, the exosystem would consist of her
husbands’ relationships with friends, family, and career of which she is not a part. For
spouses the primary realm of inﬂuence that does not include both of them is their
individual careers and goals.
Work

Numerous studies on dual-eamer couples have examined the inﬂuence of work on
marital satisfaction. Scheduling is one important way in which the work exosystem
inﬂuences the marital relationship. In a study of 961 dual-earner couples, Roehling and
Bultrnan (2002) discovered that gender role attitudes and parental status were moderators
of the relationship between work-related travel and marital quality. For spouses who held
traditional gender role attitudes, marital quality was stable or enhanced when the husband

traveled but lower when the wife traveled. For those couples who perceived themselves

26

as having nontraditional gender role attitudes, marital quality was lower if either spouse
traveled. Presser (2000) discovered that working evening, night, and weekend shifts was
a signiﬁcant predictor of divorce, moderated by the presence of children, type of
schedule, gender of the working spouse, and the length of the marriage. For men with
children, married less than ﬁve years, working ﬁxed nights increased the likelihood of
divorce or separation by six times. For women, on the other hand, having children, being
married more than ﬁve years, and working ﬁxed nights made divorce or separation three
times as likely.

Another way in which work inﬂuences the marital relationship is through salary
comparisons. In a longitudinal study of dual-eamer couples, the marital role quality of
males was signiﬁcantly related to changes in salary. For females, however, marital role
quality was not related to relative earning changes (Brennan, Barnett, & Gareis, 2001).

The way in which men and women perceive work stress to affect their marital
relationships may also be different. When investigating the stress experienced by 244
male and female doctors in dual-career partnerships, Swanson and Power (1999) found
that males perceived their work as more stressful and less satisfying than their female
counterparts. In addition, while work stress had a greater impact on home life than the
reverse, home-to-work stress predicted marital conﬂict only for females.

Graduate School

As more and more people attend college and graduate school, often at
nontraditional times in the life cycle, the inﬂuence of schooling has come to have a
signiﬁcant effect on marriages and families. In a study of marital adjustment among

graduate students, McRoy and Fisher (1982) discovered that marital adjustment was

27

affected by student status in one or both spouses. Marital adjustment was found to be
lower when only the husband was a student compared to the wife only or both spouses
being students. Marital adjustment was also better if the husband was the source of
economic support or when both spouses were students. In addition, the presence of young
children in the family contributed signiﬁcantly to marital dissatisfaction.

Despite the difﬁculties often experienced by graduate students and their spouses,
the ﬁeld of study may be an important moderating factor. In a study of medical student
marriages conducted by Katz, Monnier, Libet, Shaw, and Beach (2000), the stress
experienced by the graduate student was signiﬁcantly correlated with depression
experienced by his/her spouse. In addition, the stress of the graduate student was
increased as a result of lack of support. While the spouse is traditionally the primary
source of support for most married couples, spouses of graduate students may experience
barriers to providing the necessary support such as employment, domestic tasks, and
child rearing. The results of this study also indicated, however, that investing in marital
support may buffer against the effects of stress for medical student marriages.

The results of a study of marriage and family therapy graduate students indicated
that marital partners believed the experience of graduate school was more enhancing than
stressful for their relationship (Sori, Wetchler, Ray, & Niedner, 1996). Despite these
positive results, however, there was a signiﬁcant difference among the sexes. Male
spouses of marriage and family therapy trainees reported signiﬁcantly more stressors than
their female counterparts. This may be because it is more difﬁcult for males to put the

professional development of their wives prior to their own needs.

28

 

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Macrosystem Inﬂuences on the Marital Relationship

The macrosystem includes inﬂuences that exist at the level of the subculture or
culture of which the couple is a part. The values and beliefs that are based in social class,
race/ethnicity, religion, and societal gender role beliefs may all have a signiﬁcant impact
on marital satisfaction.
Religion

Research regarding the inﬂuence of religion on marriage focuses primarily on
marital stability. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, Call
and Heaton (1997) found that the frequency of religious attendance had the greatest
positive impact on marital stability. Couples who attended religious services regularly
had the lowest risk of divorce. When spouses were members of different religious groups,
however, the risk of divorce was increased. In addition, the religious beliefs of wives
concerning marital commitment and non-marital sex were more important to marital
stability than the husbands’ beliefs.
Ethnicity

Most would agree that those from different races and/or ethnic groups have
different expectations for marital and family life. Because of these different values and
beliefs regarding marriage, race and/or ethnicity may be an important inﬂuence on the
marital relationship. Among a sample of non-disadvantaged, married Aﬁican American
men and women and White men and women, race was the single most important
predictor of overall well-being, deﬁned as general contentment, marital satisfaction, and
family cohesion (Woody & Green, 2001). In studies of Mexican American couples,

acculturation seems to be a moderating factor between ethnicity and marital satisfaction.

29

Mexican American women who reported being more acculturated also reported less
marital satisfaction (Medina, 2000; Negy & Snyder, 1997). For couples from China,
marital satisfaction did not play as signiﬁcant a role in overall life satisfaction as did
inter-role conﬂict and job satisfaction (Chiu, Man, & Thayer, I998).
Gender-Role Beliefs

Over the past 50 years, the familial landscape of America has changed
considerably. Women continue to be the beneﬁciaries of increased opportunity for career
success, and men are reaping the rewards of being more involved with their families.
Despite the positive effects these changes have brought about, especially in the lives of
women, the social milieu of increased gender equity and equal opportunity has also had
some negative consequences for marital relationships. According to Amato, Johnson,
Booth, and Rogers (2003) marital quality and the likelihood of divorce have changed
little between the years of 1980 and 2000, while marital interaction has decreased over
the last 20 years. Declines in marital quality were associated with increases in marital
heterogamy, premarital cohabitation, wives’ extended hours of employment, and wives’
job demands. Increases in marital quality, on the other hand, have been associated with
increases in economic resources, decision-making equality, nontraditional attitudes
toward gender, and support for lifelong marriage (Amato et al., 2003).

Marriage in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Culture

Chinese, Japanese, and Korean graduate students and their spouses have been
chosen as the targeted participants for two primary reasons. First, students from these
three nations make up a large percentage of the international graduate students on college

campuses. Second, while each having unique characteristics, the Chinese, Japanese, and

30

Korean cultures share several fundamental values and beliefs. For example, all three

cultures value education, collectivism, loyalty, harmony, family, and saving face

(Altamirano, Abe, Pak, & Zheng, 2002). In addition, all three societies value a

hierarchical social structure that determines interaction in political, educational,

occupational, and familial spheres (Altamirano et al., 2002). These similar values and

beliefs result from a common Confucian ideology as well as Buddhist religious practices.
The Traditional View of Marriage

The traditional view of marriage in Eastern cultures has been highly inﬂuenced by
Confucian philosophy (Higgins, Zheng, Liu, & Hui Sun, 2002). Confucianism has at its
center four primary principles: ( 1) order in society; (2) ﬁlial piety; (3) hierarchical yet
reciprocal interpersonal relationships; and (4) a high regard for truth, virtue, education,
and social status (Wenhao, Salomon, & Chay, 1993). According to Confucian
philosophy, all passionate love should be suppressed, and only sex within marriage for
reproductive reasons is sanctioned.

This philosophy has inﬂuenced the role of the woman in the Asian marriage.
According to Confucian philosophy, women who are obedient and lack talent are
valuable. Women in more traditional Asian cultures do not have the ability to choose
their marital partner. Rather, marriage is a business transaction that is arranged by the
parents in accordance with the social hierarchy (Higgins et al., 2002). In traditional
Chinese culture, women were seen as housebound, submissive, second-class citizens.
Women were able to bought and sold by their husbands and fathers.

In the traditional view, marriage is seen as the pathway to personal self-worth and

achievement (Higgins et al., 2002). When children do not marry at an appropriate age,

31

parents and grandparents become concerned. For men, a social stigma identiﬁes single
males over 30 as implying that no woman wanted him. For women, on the other hand,
they risk being regarded as an old virgin (Higgins et al., 2002).

In a recent study comparing Japanese and American couples, families were
instructed to draw a picture of their family (Bell & Bell, 2000). Compared with the
American families, the pictures drawn by Japanese families depicted more traditional
marital and family relationships. Fathers and husbands were more isolated, while mothers
and wives were depicted as more connected with children (Bell & Bell, 2000). As cited in
Katsurada and Sugihara (2002), Inoue stated that in an international comparison,
Japanese women were ranked second only to Philippine women in their approval of
traditional gender roles. The Japanese word for wife, kanai, literally means “inside the
house” (Walsh & Taylor, 1982).

The Modern View of Marriage

In 1949, a new marriage law was instituted in China that outlawed arranged
marriages and recognized monogamy based on free choice as the only legal form of
marriage (Higgins et al., 2002). The Open Door policy, instituted in the 1980s, brought
about a new liberal attitude to sexual behavior and marriage. Most urban young people
now expect to choose their own marriage partners and to marry for love. These new
liberal attitudes in China have also led to an increase in divorce rates (Higgins et al.,
2002). In 1979, there were 319,252 divorces while in 1998, there were 1,190,214
divorces in China.

Despite these more liberal attitudes, however, aspects of the old traditionalism are

still alive and well in China. For example, Chinese husbands still want their wives to be

32

beautiful, healthy, gentle, and good at housekeeping (Higgins et al., 2002). In general,
they do not want wives who are better educated, more intelligent, or have higher career
status than themselves (Higgins et al., 2002).

In a study comparing American and Chinese college students, both male and
female students in the more traditional Chinese culture held more male-dominant
attitudes (Chia, Chong, Cheng, Castellow, Moore, & Hayes, 1986). Despite this ﬁnding,
however, women in both cultures held more egalitarian perspectives. While this was
expected for American women, it was somewhat surprising that the Chinese women held
these views because they have traditionally been more submissive and oppressed.
Another interesting ﬁnding was that there was no difference between the Chinese men in
1984 and the American men in 1962 regarding gender roles in marriage. This indicates
that the more modern Chinese men have views comparable to those of American men in
the sixties (Chia et al., 1986).

In a qualitative study of thirty-two Korean working-class couples, many of the
traditional norms regarding marriage were found to be upheld (Choi & Keith, 1991). The
majority of the couples interviewed (60%) met one another through matchrnakers and
were married in a relatively short period of time. Despite this modern type of arranged
marriage, however, many of them described their marriage as growing in love despite
earlier difﬁculties in adjusting to one another. While many of the couples interviewed
were dual-eamer, mostly from necessity rather than choice, the wives continued to take
primary responsibility for the household tasks. In regards to ﬁnances and decision-
making, many of the wives handled the ﬁnances but did not have decision-making power

in how their money was spent.

33

Despite suggested adherence to traditional values regarding marriage, up to 20%
of Japanese get divorced, while 62% of women and 73% of men get remarried after a
divorce (Steinberg et al., 2000). In addition, more Japanese women are remaining single.
The proportion of unmarried women in Japan has been drastically increasing. Between
1970 and 1995, it increased by 21% for women ages 20-24, by 166% for women ages 25-
29, and by 173% for women ages 30-34 (Raymo, 1998). According to Steinberg et al.
(2000), sixty-seven percent of Japanese women now oppose gender-based role division.

In many Asian cultures, the dual-earner household is becoming more common
because of necessity. The resulting dual roles, especially for wives, may bring about
additional stress to the marriage. In a study conducted by Chiu, Man, and Thayer (1998),
role conﬂict and role satisfaction were assessed with regard to their relationships to
overall stress. There were 497 total participants from Hong Kong including 144 social
workers, 196 nurses, and 157 managers. Results indicated that work conﬂict and family
conﬂict were signiﬁcantly related to inter-role conﬂict. In addition, family role conﬂict
negatively affected marital satisfaction, but marital satisfaction was not affected by inter-
role conﬂict as expected. Both job satisfaction and marital satisfaction were positively
related to overall life satisfaction. Among inter-role conﬂict, job satisfaction, marital
satisfaction, and life satisfaction, only marital satisfaction did not have a signiﬁcant
relationship with overall stress (Chiu et al., 1998).

As mentioned previously, those from Asian cultures often express mental or
relational distress through somatic means. While research with American couples has
veriﬁed the beneﬁcial health consequences of being in a healthy, satisﬁed marriage, less

research on this subject exists for Asian couples. Shek (1995) investigated marital quality

34

and psychological well-being of married adults in China. The sample in this study
consisted of 1501 married adults between the ages of 30 and 60 years old. The
participants were selected from public housing estates in Hong Kong by multiple stage
cluster sampling. Measures of marital satisfaction, including the Chinese version of the
Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Chinese version of the Kansas Marital Satisfaction
Scale, were signiﬁcantly correlated with all measures of psychological well-being and
perceived health status. Those who were maritally adjusted or satisﬁed reported better
psychological and physical health than those who were less adjusted or satisﬁed.
Romantic Love in Marriage

One of the stereotypical differences between Western and Eastern marriages is the
Western ideal of the existence of romantic love in marriage. In order to investigate the
phenomena of romantic love in marriage, Levine, Sato, Hashimoto, and Verma (1995)
conducted a study comparing eleven different cultures and nations concerning their belifs
about the importance of love for marriage. This study was conducted with college
students from 11 countries including India, Pakistan, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Japan,
Hong Kong, Republic of the Philippines, Australia, England, and the United States. The
authors hypothesized that people in more collectivist cultures would place less value on
romantic love in marriage. Among the Japanese respondents, only 2% stated they would
marry someone for his/her desirable qualities, despite not being in love with him/her.
Forty-two percent of Japanese respondents believed that the disappearance of love from a
marriage would indicate that the couple should separate from one another.

Korean working-class couples reported that they did not communicate with one

another on a regular basis regarding their feelings, and they did not show affection to one

35

another (Choi & Keith, 1991). In addition, the majority of wives reported that sex was
their duty rather than being something that they enjoyed. Several barriers to
companionship in these marriages were identiﬁed (Choi & Keith, 1991). First, because
many of them worked overtime at their jobs, they reported not having the time to spend
with one another. Second, it was more common for husbands to spend leisure time with
same-sex friends rather than with his wife. Third, the couples did not have the economic
resources to make leisure activities a priority. Fourth, couples felt restrained in their time
together due to the presence of children. Finally, many of these working-class Korean
couples lived with the husbands’ parents. As a result, they did not feel they had the
privacy to be able to enjoy one another’s company.
Preferences in Marital Partners

In a sample of 505 Chinese college students, research was conducted to determine
preferences for mate selection (Higgins et al., 2002). In terms of age, 71.8% of Chinese
women preferred an older husband, while, 45% of men preferred a younger wife. In
addition, 38% of Chinese women preferred a better-educated husband, and 24% of
Chinese men preferred a less well-educated partner. This study also investigated traits
that were desired of spouses by Chinese men and women. The traits desired by men
included personality, morality, health, and appearance. For women, morality,
intelligence, personality, and health were important in a future spouse.

Hofstede (1996) investigated partner preferences as they related to masculinity or
femininity of the culture. According to Hofstede (1996), masculine cultures are those in
which social gender roles are clearly distinct, while feminine societies are characterized

by overlapping gender roles. The sample for this study consisted of 50 women between

36

the ages of 20 and 30 from each of eight Asian capital cities: Bangkok, Beijing, Hong
Kong, Jakarta, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. The women were asked to identify
ﬁ'om a list of 15 traits those that they looked for in a steady boyfriend and in a husband.
Personality and sense of humor were most important in a steady boyfriend, while health,
wealth, and understanding were most important in a husband. Those women who were
from cultures identiﬁed as masculine differentiated more between the traits they desired
in a steady boyﬁiend and a husband. If the boyfriend is seen as the symbol of love, while
the husband is seen as the symbol of family life, it may be postulated that in more
masculine countries, love and family life are separated (Hofstede, 1996).

In a study of 223 Korean college students, romantic love and desired traits in
spouses were investigated (Brown, 1994). Results from this study suggest that Korean
men are more romantic than Korean women regarding their conceptualization of
marriage. More men than women agreed that (1) common interests are not important in
love; (2) short acquaintanceships are sufﬁcient for marriage; (3) religious differences do
not matter for people in love; (4) love at ﬁrst sight is often the deepest and most
enduring; (5) there are usually only one or two potential love partners in the world; (6)
regardless of other factors, love is sufﬁcient for marriage; (7) love is exciting rather than
calming; (8) differences in social class and religion are unimportant when selecting a
marriage partner; and (9) when you are in love you will know it. Brown (1994) explained
these results as being related to women’s marriage decision being based on practical
grounds rather than emotional grounds because they are more dependent than men for

their status and support.

37

In a similar study, comparing preferences for marital partners in American,
Russian, and Japanese culture, Hatﬁeld and Sprecher (1995) surveyed 222 Japanese
college students. The Japanese students were the least choosy in their mate selection as
compared to the American and Russian students. In addition, men in all three cultures
rated physical attractiveness as more important than women did, while women were more
interested in intelligence, ambition, and potential for success. For Japanese students, the
traits measured were ranked in the following order: (1) kindness and understanding; (2)
intelligent; (3) sense of humor; (4) good conversationalist; (5) expressive and open; (6)
outgoing and sociable; (7) ambitious; (8) physically attractive; (9) athletic; (10) shows
potential for success; (11) skill as a lover; and (12) money, status, and position.

The Impact of Graduate School on Mental and Relational Health

Graduate school is a time of stress for graduate students as they try to fulﬁll the
demands that are placed on them by their classes, their assistantships, their professional
development and their ﬁiends and families. As a result of this stress, graduate students
may experience mental distress in the form of anxiety, depression, or strain on
interpersonal relationships. Because of the multiple roles that many graduate students ﬁll,
inter-role conﬂict typically arises. There are two primary types of inter-role conﬂicts in
the management of family and academic roles (Dyk, 1987). First, graduate students may
experience time-based conﬂicts when it becomes physically impossible for them to meet
all of the demands of all occupied roles (Dyk, 1987). These time demands may be
particularly problematic for female students whose husbands hold relatively traditional
sex-role attitudes. Second, strain-based conﬂicts are attributed to strain in one role

affecting one’s participation in the other (Dyk, 1987).

38

Graduate School and Relational Health

The demands of graduate school have potential negative consequences for marital
relationships. Pederson and Daniels (2001) found that out of 64 couples in which at least
one partner had completed a doctoral degree, 23 of them were no longer with the partner
they had during the training program, while 41 couples survived graduate school intact.
Participants in this study identiﬁed several speciﬁc stressors on their relationships
including relocation, competing interests (academic demands and couple time),
dissatisfying sexual interactions, and ﬁnancial stress. In addition, an increasing
educational gap between the student and his/her partner decreased the commonality
shared by the partners. Finally, because of the extended educational period, graduate
student couples may delay developmental milestones such as gaining independence from
parents, beginning a family, and developing social ties with the community (Pederson &
Daniels, 2001).

In a study of medical student marriages conducted by Katz, Monnier, Libet,
Shaw, and Beach (2000), the stress experienced by the graduate student was signiﬁcantly
correlated with depression experienced by his/her spouse. In addition, the stress of the
graduate student is increased as a result of lack of support. While the spouse is
traditionally the primary source of support for most married couples, spouses of graduate
students may experience barriers to providing the necessary support such as employment,
domestic tasks, and child rearing (Katz, et al., 2000). The results of this study also
indicated, however, that investing in marital support may buffer against the effects of

stress for medical student marriages. In addition, a study of the amount of support in

39

marriage found that the amount of support received by the spouse was negatively related
to emotional symptoms (DeLongis, Folkman, & Lazarus, 1998).

According to Sori, Wetchler, Ray, and Niedner (1996), graduate school has a
generally negative effect on students’ marriages, putting them at especially high risk for
divorce. There are several reasons for this negative effect (Sori et al., 1996). First, if the
wife is the graduate student, and the marriage was traditional prior to her beginning
graduate school, her husband may become angry with his wife for gaining independence
and for leaving him with many of the stereotypically feminine responsibilities. Second,
regardless of the gender of the graduate student, their spouse may be forced to delay their
own personal goals in order to provide support for the family. Finally, the changing
values, interests, and opinions that may develop during graduate school may serve to
create a chasm between the spouses.

Despite the difﬁculties often experienced by graduate students and their spouses,
the ﬁeld of study may be an important factor. The results of a study of marriage and
family therapy graduate students indicated that marital partners believed the experience
of graduate school was more enhancing than stressful for their relationship (Sori et al.,
1996). Despite these positive results, however, there was a signiﬁcant difference among
the genders. Male spouses of marriage and family therapy graduate students reported
signiﬁcantly more stressors than their female counterparts. This may be because it is
more difﬁcult for males to put the professional development of their wives prior to their
own needs.

In a study of marital adjustment among graduate students, McRoy and Fisher

(1982) discovered that marital adjustment was affected by student status in one or both

40

spouses. Marital adjustment was found to be lower when only the husband was a student
as compared to the wife only or both spouses being students. Marital adjustment was also
better if the husband was the source of economic support or when both spouses were
students. In addition, the presence of young children in the family contributed
signiﬁcantly to marital dissatisfaction (McRoy & Fisher, 1982).

Graduate School and Mental Health

According to Saunders and Balinsky (1993), approximately 78% of graduate
students feel stressed. In fact, many doctoral students describe their ﬁrst-year doctoral
program experience as a major life crisis (Valdez, 1982). Signiﬁcant positive correlations
have been found between the stress experienced as a result of graduate studies and
physical and emotional problems, and women seem to experience these difﬁculties more
profoundly (Goplerud, 1980; Mallinckrodt, Leong, & Kralj, 1989; Cahir & Morris, 1991;
Hodgson & Simoni, 1995; Kreger, 1995). Social support may serve as a buffer for the
stress that is experienced by graduate students. In a study of international graduate
students living in on-campus graduate housing facilities, there was a signiﬁcant negative
correlation between social support and stress, physical complaints, and psychological
distress (Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992).

According to Altbach (1970), there are ﬁve conditions of graduate student life
that bring about stress and general unhappiness. First, while graduate students are adults,
they may feel as though they are treated like children by their universities. Second,
graduate students are often exploited by being underpaid and overworked. In addition,
they must deal with occasional plagiarism of their original work by faculty members.

Third, graduate students are subject to arbitrary treatment with little means to resist such

41

treatment. Fourth, graduate students must depend on their professors and their department
for a livelihood, a degree, and possible ﬁrture academic positions. Finally, the graduate
student’s role as a teaching or research assistant for a faculty member is often ambivalent
in nature.

Another major source of stress for graduate students is the lack of intimacy that
they often experience while in school. According to Halleck (1976), the primary cause of
emotional disorders among graduate students is due to dissolution of relationships. In a
more recent study, Jacks et a1. (1983) discovered that 24% of graduate students leave
doctoral programs because of family demands, while 20% leave doctoral programs
because they lack peer support.

As stated by Whitman, Spendlove, and Clark (1984),

the picture of graduate students that has emerged thus far is of adults who

may feel: powerless because of their dependence on faculty members’

judgments; ambiguity about their role as teachers of undergraduate

students; thwarted in their need for meaningful activity because of the
impersonal nature of their departments and the narrow focus of their
studies; frustrated in their need for social intimacy because of the
difficulty of attracting and/or maintaining personal relationships; and
overwhelmed from the many changes in their lives, especially in the ﬁrst

year of graduate school (p. 37-3 8).

42

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Qualitative Methodology

East Asian graduate students are members of a minority group whose experiences
are often overlooked. As a result, qualitative research methods are the best way in which
to allow the voices of these students and their spouses to be heard (Rosenblatt & Fischer,
1993). In previous research on East Asian married couples, standardized instruments that
have been developed based on Western ideals have been translated into the appropriate
language and used to draw inferences regarding these couples (e.g., Shek, 1995). This
practice, however, may not be culturally or ecologically valid for East Asian couples.
This particular study relied on grounded theory methodology. Grounded theory is
primarily concerned with developing theoretical themes and patterns as they relate to a
speciﬁc phenomenon (Rafuls & Moon, 1996). It is important to note that this research
developed substantive grounded theory, which entails developing concepts that are based
on data focusing on one area of study (Gilgun, I992).

Researcher as Instrument and Researcher Reﬂexivity

Although they may be used as a way of triangulating the data, standardized
measurement tools are not the primary way in which to gather data in grounded theory
research. Rather, the researcher is the instrument as she interacts with the participants
through open-ended interviews. The researcher’s theoretical sensitivity is a key
component of developing a theory that is grounded in the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
According to Glaser and Strauss (1967), theoretical sensitivity involves asking the
following questions of an emerging theory: (1) What does the theory do? (2) How is it

conceived? (3) What is its general position? (4) What kinds of models does it use? In

43

addition, theoretical sensitivity involves the researcher’s personality and temperament as
well as her ability to have theoretical insight into her area of research (Glaser & Strauss,
1967). Theoretical sensitivity is lost, however, when the researcher commits herself
exclusively to one speciﬁc preconceived theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). In contrast to
positivistic research methods, qualitative researchers acknowledge that all research is
subjective and that researchers are a part of the research process (Rosenblatt & Fischer,
1993). As such, it is important to study the subjective experiences of others and to give an
account of the researcher’s subjectivity.

Like any standardized instrument, the primary instrument in this study, the
researcher has her own limitations and biases. As a Caucasian American woman, the
researcher’s life experiences were very different from those of her subjects, East Asian
international graduate students. Despite the differences brought about by race and gender,
the researcher and her subjects shared the common experience of graduate school. Both
the differences and the commonalities had advantages and disadvantages. The differences
were helpful in creating an atmosphere of curiosity and not-knowing with the participants
and in communicating the importance of their insight. These same differences, however,
may have blinded the researcher to signiﬁcant insights. The common experience of
graduate school may have assisted the researcher in joining with the participants, but it
may have also inﬂuenced the researcher to make assumptions regarding the participants’
experiences in graduate school based on her own experiences. In addition, the researcher
is a clinician who values marital therapy and satisfactory marital relationships. As a
result, her values may have inﬂuenced the data that was gathered ﬁ'om participants, and

she may have unduly inﬂuenced them to view their marriage as either healthy or

44

unhealthy. Awareness of the above issues was a key to maintaining the trustworthiness of
the qualitative data.

In order to address the above issues and to ensure cultural and theoretical
sensitivity, the researcher consulted with cultural insiders to verify the ecological and
cultural validity of her interview questions. In addition, a pilot interview was conducted
with a volunteer couple in order to make any necessary changes to the interview
schedule.

Sampling Procedures

Grounded theory methodology calls for the use of theoretical sampling
procedures. Theoretical sampling is “the process of data collection for generating theory
whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes, and analyzes his data and decides what data to
collect next and where to ﬁnd them, in order to develop his theory as it emerges” (Glaser
& Strauss, 1967, p. 45). Therefore, initial decisions regarding the sample were based on
the general subject area, which is in this case, the marriages of East Asian (China, Japan,
Korea) international graduate students. In addition, the researcher was unable to identify
at the outset of the research exactly how many participants would be included (Glaser &
Strauss, 1967) but could only make an estimation regarding how many participants would
be required before reaching theoretical saturation. The grounded theory researcher ceases
her investigation when she has reached theoretical saturation, meaning that no additional
data are being found (Glaser & Strauss, 1967).

In order to select the initial participants for analysis, the researcher relied on

purposive sampling methods, in which participants were selected based on their

45

adherence to a set of traits or conditions (Luborsky & Rubinstein, 1995). In order to
participate in this study, individuals had to meet the following criteria:
1. Participants must be married couples in which both partners are from China,

Japan, or Korea.

2. At least one member of the couple must be a graduate student from China, Japan,
or Korea with international student status.

3. Both spouses must be available to be interviewed.

4. Both spouses must be able to participate in an interview in English.

Participants were recruited from a major state university in the South. The
researcher identiﬁed several contact persons in the university’s ofﬁce of international
student affairs and in related student organizations. These contact persons offered their
assistance in identifying and recruiting participants for the study. In addition, the
researcher advertised the study with ﬂyers and through relevant student organizations and
newsletters. Despite the researcher’s expectations that using these key informants would
yield the research participants that she needed, the researcher was surprised that she got
no responses through the above mentioned recruitment efforts. Because she was a
cultural outsider, the researcher expected that students would be more willing to
participate if they heard about the study from someone they knew or from an organization
with which they were familiar. These recruitment efforts, however, yielded no
participants. As a result, the researcher made the decision to distribute ﬂyers at university
graduate student housing complexes. All of the participants except for one couple were
students with whom the researcher had spoken face to face when handing out ﬂyers.

Potential participants were instructed to contact the researcher to communicate their

46

interest in the research. Couples who chose to participate were given a non-monetary gift
to express appreciation for their participation.

In accordance with the Institutional Review Board established to monitor research
involving human subjects, measures were taken by the researcher to protect the study’s
participants. Confidentiality of all research participants was maintained through obtaining
informed consent. All participants’ names have been changed, and any identifying
information will be disguised when the results of the study are published or presented.
All audio recordings, transcriptions, and other study materials were kept in a locked
cabinet to which only the researcher had access. The informed consent form can be found
in Appendix A.

Data Collection

Data was collected through open-ended interviews conducted by the researcher.
These interviews took place at a location that was convenient for the participants, which
included the researcher’s ofﬁce or a group study room in the university library. The
spouses were interviewed both conjointly and separately. All interviews were audio
recorded to allow for transcription. Grounded theory relies on the constant comparative
method in which there is a constant interplay between data collection and data analysis
(Glaser & Strauss, 1967). This means that each interview was analyzed prior to
conducting the next interview. In the tradition of grounded theory methodology, changes
were made to the interview questions to aid in theoretical sampling. Data collection
continued until theoretical saturation was reached (Glaser, 1978). The ﬁrst draft of the

interview schedule is located in Appendix B.

47

Triangulation

In qualitative research, validity cannot be tested in the same way that it is in
quantitative research. Validity, however, is a salient issue in qualitative research. One
way in which to enhance the validity of qualitative research is to triangulate the
qualitative data through other means of data collection. In addition to the open-ended
interviews that were transcribed and coded, the researcher also kept memos regarding her
thoughts and ideas throughout the research process. These memos served as an additional
source of data. In addition, the research participants completed several standardized
measures and a demographic information questionnaire in order to enhance the validity of
the ﬁndings. Each of these instruments is discussed in more detail below. Table 3.1
displays each of the quantitative instruments with the research question they are meant to
triangulate

Table 3.1: Triangulation of Research Questions with Quantitative Instruments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Question Quantitative Instrument
How do macrosystem factors inﬂuence the Role Orientation — MSI-R
marital relationship of East Asian SL-ASIA
students?
How do exosystem factors inﬂuence the Time Together — MSI-R
marital relationship of East Asian
students?
How do mesosystem factors inﬂuence the Family History of Distress — MSI-R
marital relationship of East Asian Dissatisfaction with Children — MSl-R
students? Conﬂict Over Child Rearing— MSI-R
How do microsystem factors inﬂuence the Affective Communication — MSI-R
marital relationship of East Asian Problem-Solving Communication - MSI-R
students? Aggression — MSI-R
Disagreement about Finances — MSl-R
Sexual Dissatisfaction — MSI-R
How do individual factors inﬂuence the OQ-45.2
marital relationship of East Asian
students?

 

 

48

 

Demographic Questionnaire

The demographic questionnaire (see Appendix C) was used to gather
demographic information from the participants. This demographic questionnaire asked
questions regarding the participants’ education, employment, ethnicity, family
composition, and family income.

Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (MSI-R)

Although based on Western ideals of marriages, the MSI-R was used in this study
to triangulate data regarding the quality of participants’ marriages (see Appendix D). The
MSI-R was standardized using an ethnically representative United States sample. The
United States census reported 3.5% of the population being Asian American, and 1.4% of
the standard sample for the MSI-R was Asian American (Snyder, 1997). Participants
were not classiﬁed according to the quality of their marriages, but participants’ scores on
the instrument may provide valuable information regarding their perceptions of
inﬂuences on the marital relationship.

The subscales of the MSI-R, like the interview questions, address different levels
of the ecological environment. The eleven subscales include: (1) Global Distress; (2)
Affective Communication; (3) Problem-Solving Communication; (4) Aggression; (5)
Time Together; (6) Disagreement about Finances; (7) Sexual Dissatisfaction; (8) Role
Orientation; (9) Family History of Distress; (10) Dissatisfaction with Children; and (11)
Conﬂict over Child Rearing. The subscale scores on the MSI-R are divided into three
categories: (1) not problematic (below 507); (2) possibly problematic (SOT to 607); and
(3) problematic (above 607) (Snyder, 1997). The only subscale that differs from this

categorical division is the Family History of Distress subscale. Individuals scoring below

49

457’ are in the non-problematic range; those scoring between 45T and 55T are in the
possibly problematic range; and those scoring above 557’ are considered to have
problematic relationships with their family of origin (Snyder, 1997). In addition, the Role
Orientation scale is not divided into problem ranges. Rather, scores below 50T indicate a
traditional gender role orientation; scores between 50T and 60T represent a belief in more
ﬂexible gender roles; and scores above 60T indicate an equal sharing of responsibilities
between partners (Snyder, 1997).

In addition to the subscales described above, the MSI-R also contains two validity
subscales. The Inconsistency Scale is used to identify random responding (Snyder, 1997).
Scores above 657’ indicate random, nonreﬂective responses, while scores between 55T
and 65T may indicate that an individual has mixed sentiments within a speciﬁc
relationship domain (Snyder, 1997).The Conventionalization Scale indicates an
individual’s tendency to distort their relationship in a socially desirable direction (Snyder,
1997). While very low scores on this scale may be expected of couples entering therapy,
very low scores (below 40?) indicate that responses are overly negative. On the other
hand, high scores (above 557) may reﬂect idealistic distortion (Snyder, 1997).

Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA)

The SL-ASIA is the most commonly used measure of acculturation for Asian
research participants (see Appendix E). Developed by Suinn, Rickard-Figueroa, Lew, and
Vigil (1987), the mean values of the scale have reﬂected predicted increases in
acculturation for each subsequent generation. Higher scores on the SL-ASIA have been
associated with a greater number of years in the United States (Suinn et al., 1987).

Factorial validation indicated ﬁve factors for the SL-ASIA including

50

reading/writing/cultural preference, ethnic interaction, afﬁnity for ethnic identity and
pride, generational identity, and food preference (Suinn, Ahuna, & Khoo, 1992). The SL-
ASIA yields a score from one to ﬁve, with one representing low acculturation, three
representing someone who is bicultural, and ﬁve representing high acculturation
(Ponterotto, Baluch, & Carielli, 1998). This instrument was used in this study to identify
the level of acculturation each participant was experiencing. As such, it helped to identify
whether participants were remaining loyal to their cultures of origin or if they were
accepting the new culture in which they were residing and completing their graduate
studies.

Outcome Questionnaire-45.2 (OQ-45.2)

The OQ 45.2, developed by Lambert, Hansen, Umpress, Lunnen, Okiishi,
Burlingame, and Reisinger (1996), was designed “to access common symptoms across a
wide range of adult mental disorders and syndromes, including stress related illness and
v-codes” (p. 1) (see Appendix F). The CO 45.2 contains three subscales, symptom
distress (SD), interpersonal relations (IR), and social role (SR).

The items on the SD subscale of the CO 45.2 measure symptoms of depression
and anxiety (Lambert et al., 1996). Individuals who score a 36 or higher on the SD
subscale are considered to be experiencing clinically relevant levels of these symptoms.
The IR subscale includes items intended to measure ﬁiction, conﬂict, isolation,
inadequacy, and withdrawal in interpersonal relationships (Lambert et al., 1996). The cut-
off score distinguishing between clinical and non-clinical samples for the IR subscale is

15. One’s level of dissatisfaction, conﬂict, distress, and inadequacy in tasks related to

51

roles in work, family, and leisure is measured by the SR subscale (Lambert et al., 1996).
The cut-off score for the SR subscale is 12.

Normative data in the development of the OQ 45.2 was gathered from
undergraduate students in three states, from a community sample, from EAP clinical
services, from university counseling centers, and from outpatient clinics (Lambert et al.,
1996). For the total OQ 45.2 score, test-retest reliability was .84 for the student sample,
and internal consistency yielded a value of .93 for both the student and patient samples
(Lambert et al., 1996). The OQ 45.2 was used in this study to identify individual
psychological, relational, and social role factors that were inﬂuential in the participants’
lives. In addition, because those from Asian cultures often express mental distress in the
form of physical symptoms, the mean score on items 2, 9, 27, 29, 34, 41, and 45 was
calculated to develop an index of somatization.

Research Questions and Interview Questions

Tables 3.2-3.4 list the primary research questions guiding this study juxtaposed

against their corresponding interview questions. The tables also indicate whether the

questions were asked during the conjoint or individual interviews.

52

Table 3.2: Research Question #1 and Interview Questions

 

Primary Research
Question

Secondary Research
Questions

Interview Questions

 

 

How does the natural
physical-biological
environment inﬂuence the
marital relationships of East
Asian students?

 

What changes have you
noticed between the natural
environment at home and
the natural environment in
the US? Conjoint

 

 

How has the natural
environment in the US
changed the way in which
you and your husband/wife
interact with one another?
Are there things you used to
do together at home that
you are unable to do
together here because of the
natural environment?
Conjoint

 

53

 

Table 3.3: Research Question #2 and Interview Questions

 

Primary Research
Question

Secondary Research
Questions

Interview Questions

 

 

How does the social-
cultural environment
inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

 

How do macrosystem
factors inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

What does a marriage look
like in your culture?
Conjoint

 

What are some of the values
of your culture regarding
marrrge? Cogjoint

 

Is there such a thing as
“good” and “bad” marriages
in your culture? If so, what
does a “good” marriage
look like? What does a
“bad” marriage look like?
Conjoint

 

How has your cultural
background helped you in
the US? Individual

 

How has your cultural
background hindered you in
the US? Individual

 

What are some of the values
of your culture regarding
the roles of men and women
in marriage? Have these
values changed since
coming to the US? If so,
how? Individual

 

 

How has one/both spouses
being in graduate school
changed the gender roles in
your marriage? Individual

 

54

 

Table 3.3: Research Question #2 and Interview Questions, cont.

 

Primary Research
Question

Secondary Research
Question

Interview Questions

 

 

How does the social-
cultural environment
inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

 

How do exosystem factors
inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

For spouses who are
employed: Tell me about
yogjob. Individual

 

Would you be working if
your spouse were not in
graduate school? What
would you do instead?
Individual

 

How has your job affected
your relationship with your
use? Individual

 

Student: Describe your
overall experience of
graduate school.

Spouse: Describe your
overall experience of your
spouse being in graduate
school. Individual

 

How has the marital
relationship changed since
one/both spouses started
graduate school? Individual

 

What has been the
economic impact of
one/both spouses being in
graduate school? Individual

 

What is particularly
stressful about one/both
spouses being in graduate
school? Individual

 

What support do you
receive from the university?
Your department? Your
advisor? Individual

 

 

What types of support do
you ﬁnd most helpful while
you/your spouse are in
graduate school? Individual

 

55

 

Table 3.3: Research Question #2 and Interview Questions, cont.

 

Research Question

Secondary Research
@estions

Interview Questions

 

 

How does the social-
cultural environment
inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

 

How do mesosystem factors
inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

Tell me about your
extended family. Did any of
your extended family
members accompany you to
the US? If so, what are your
living arrangements?
Describe your relationship
with your extended family
when you were at home.
Describe your relationship
with your extended family
now that you are in the US.
Individual

 

Tell me about the friends
you have made here in the
US. How has having ﬁiends
helped you and your spouse
adjust to being in the US?
How do your ﬁiends
provide you with support?
Individual

 

Tell me about the
neighborhood or
community in which you
live. Describe your

relationships with your
neighbors. Individual

 

 

If you have children, how
has your marital
relationship changed since
your children were born?
Individual

 

56

 

Table 3.3: Research Question #2 and Interview Questions, cont.

 

Primary Research
Question

Secondary Research
Questions

Interview Questions

 

 

How does the social-
cultural environment
inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

How do microsystem
factors inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

Tell me about your
relationship with one
another. Conjoint

 

How do the two of you
solve problems? Conjoint

 

How do the two of you
make decisions? Conjoint

 

How do the two of you
communicate with one
another? Do you talk about
your feelings with one
another? Conjoint

 

How do the two of you
show affection to one
another? Conjoint

 

For the graduate student:
How does your spouse
support you in your role as
a graduate student?
Conjoint

 

What is the role that each of
you play in the marriage?
Conjoint

 

 

How do individual factors
inﬂuence the marital
relationships of East Asian
students?

Describe your personality.
What characteristics
describe who you are?
Individual

 

 

Tell me about your health.
Are you currently
experiencing any health
problems? If so, what are
they? Individual

 

57

 

Table 3.4: Research Question #3 and Interview Questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Primary Research Secondary Research Interview Questions
Question » Questions
How does the human built Describe the neighborhood
environment inﬂuence the in which you live. Conjoint
marital relationship of East Describe the home in which
Asian students? you and your family live.
Conjoint
Data Analysis

As stated previously, data analysis in grounded theory research takes place
through a recursive process. As such, as data is collected, it is analyzed, and necessary
changes are then made to the interview schedule prior to conducting the next interview
(Glaser & Strauss, 1967). There are three steps to data analysis in grounded theory: ( 1)
open coding; (2) axial coding; and (3) selective coding. Each of these three steps is
discussed in more detail below.

The researcher used a combination of manual and computer-assisted coding to
analyze the qualitative data collected in this study. The researcher manually coded
transcripts for the process of open coding. NUD*IST qualitative data analysis software
(Qualitative Solutions and Research, 1997) was used to assist the researcher in organizing
the large amount of data obtained in the study. The transcripts from all of the interviews
were loaded into NUD*IST, and the researcher ﬂagged the transcripts for the open codes.
To aid in the process of axial coding, reports were created for each code identiﬁed in the
open coding process. Open codes that appeared in 60% of the documents were retained
while the rest were discarded. This enabled the researcher to get a clearer picture of more
relevant codes and to begin the process of categorization. Once the open codes were

categorized through the process of axial coding, new reports were created using the

58

 

NUD*IST software for each coding category. The reports created by NUD*IST enable a
researcher to have in one document all of the data related to a speciﬁc coding category.
These reports assisted the researcher in composing the results chapter of this dissertation.
Coding Procedures

Open Coding

According to Strauss and Corbin (1998), open coding is the “analytic process
through which concepts are identiﬁed and their properties and dimensions are discovered
in the data” (p. 101). The primary goal in this ﬁrst step of data analysis is
conceptualization of events, objects, or actions/interactions that are signiﬁcant in the data
(Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Data are broken down and given a conceptual name. These
concepts may come from three sources: (1) the pool of concepts already identiﬁed in the
data; (2) the research literature; or (3) catchy phrases used by the research participants
(Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Open coding may be conducted through line-by—line analysis,
analysis of sentences or paragraphs, or analysis of the document as a whole (Strauss &
Corbin, 1998).

According to Glaser (1978), there are several rules which govern open coding.
First, the researcher must identify a set of questions to be asked of the data. These
questions include, “What is this data a study of?” (p. 57); “What category does this
incident indicate?” (p. 57); and “What is actually happening in the data?” (p. 57). The
second rule is that the data should be coded painstakingly in order to achieve full
theoretical coverage. Third, the analyst must do her own coding rather than using hired
coders. The fourth rule is to interrupt coding to memo ideas. Fifth, the researcher should

remain within her substantive area. The ﬁnal rule is that the researcher should not assume

59

that face variables such as age, sex, social class, or race, are analytically relevant until
they emerge as relevant (Glaser, 1978).

In addition to the above rules for open coding identiﬁed by Glaser (1978), he also
identiﬁes several families in which open codes can generally be classiﬁed. These coding
families serve as a guide for the qualitative researcher to determine what types of
concepts may be useful during theory development. One of the coding families that was
particularly useful for this researcher was “the six c’s” (Glaser, 1978, p. 74). The six c’s
referred to include causes, contexts, contingencies, consequences, covariances, and
conditions. As the researcher engaged in the process of open coding, these general codes
were kept in mind. The process of open coding in this study yielded a total of 66 codes.
Axial Coding

According to Strauss and Corbin (1998), axial coding consists of “relating
categories to their subcategories” (p. 123). The purpose of axial coding is to reassemble
the data that were broken down during open coding. There are four basic tasks involved
in axial coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). First, the researcher lays out the properties of a
category and their dimensions. Second, the variety of conditions, actions/interactions, and
consequences are identiﬁed. Third, a category is related to its subcategory through
statements about how they are related. Finally, the researcher looks for clues in the data
that indicate how major categories might be related to one another. Upon completing the
process of axial coding, the original 66 codes were reduced to 21 categories of codes.
These categories were then reduced further by determining to which environment,
natural, human-built, or social-cultural, they were related. Table 3.5 displays the

categories and sub-categories identiﬁed in the process of axial coding.

60

Table 3.5: Axial Coding Categories and Subcategories

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Human-Built
Environment Environment
0 State of natural 0 Population
environment 0 Transportation
0 Outdoor 0 Size of city
activities

 

 

Social-Cultural Environment

 

 

 

Individual Micro Meso Exo Macro

0 Personality - Problem- 0 Family 0 Time 0 Language
0 Health solving 0 Friends together 0 Relationship
Affection 0 Children 0 Advisors/ expectations

0 Spousal professors 0 Western

support inﬂuence

- Spousal 0 Gender
separation o Communism

 

 

 

 

 

Selective Coding

Selective coding is deﬁned as “the process of integrating and reﬁning the theory”
(Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 143). An important point of selective coding is to present the
ﬁndings as interrelated concepts rather than as a list of themes. The goal of selective
coding is to select a central category that represents the main theme of the research
(Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The six criteria for choosing a central category are as follows:
(1) it must be central; (2) it must appear frequently in the data; (3) it must be logical and
consistent; (4) the name should be abstract enough to allow for the development of a
more general theory; (5) the concept should allow the theory to grow in depth and
explanatory power; and (6) the concept is able to explain variation as well as the main
point of the data (Strauss, 1987). The core category that emerged from the qualitative

data collected in this study was adjustment of the international graduate student couple.

61

 

This core category and the theoretical map which emerged from it will be discussed
further in Chapter 5.
Analysis of Quantitative Data

The quantitative data collected on the MSI-R (Snyder, 1997), the SL-ASIA
(Suinn et al., 1987), and the OQ 45.2 (Lambert et al., 1996) was used to triangulate the
qualitative data. As such, it was analyzed primarily for descriptive purposes rather than
for predictive or inferential purposes. Speciﬁcally, the MSI-R was used to conﬁrm
participants’ verbal reports concerning their marriages. The researcher cross-referenced
participants’ reports of particularly inﬂuential factors on their marital relationship with
the appropriate subscales of the MSI-R. For example, participants were asked questions
regarding the marital processes that occur between them, speciﬁcally in regards to
conﬂict resolution, and the MSl-R contains a problem-solving communication subscale
which was compared against their verbal reports. It is important to note, however, that the
MSI-R was developed based on Western cultural standards. As a result, scores on this
measure must be analyzed with an eye toward cultural differences.

The SL—ASIA was used to determine the level of identiﬁcation the participants
have with their culture of origin versus the dominant culture in which they live.
Participants were asked interview questions speciﬁcally focusing on the inﬂuence their
cultural values and/or beliefs have on their marital relationships, and their scores on the
SL-ASIA will provide an additional indicator of their cultural/ethnic identity.

The OQ 45.2 was used to measure mental distress as well as the presence of
somatization. During the qualitative interviews, participants were asked to describe their

personalities as well as to address any health problems they were experiencing. While the

62

OQ 45.2 does not have a subscale that measures the presence of somatization
speciﬁcally, it does contain several individual questions that address physical symptoms
(questions #2, 9, 27, 29, 34, 41, 45). Participants’ mean score on these questions was used
to create an index of somatization. Participants whose mean score was less than or equal
to 2.5 were identiﬁed as not having signiﬁcant somatic symptoms, while those whose
mean score was greater than 2.5 were considered to have signiﬁcant somatic symptoms.

The OQ 45.2 provided an additional indicator of participants’ mental and physical health.

63

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS

This chapter presents the primary ﬁndings of this study. First, an overview of
sample demographics will be presented. Second, the ﬁndings corresponding with each
research question will be demonstrated. Finally, an overview of descriptive statistics from
the quantitative measures will be provided.

Sample Demographics

Despite the researcher’s efforts to recruit participants from China, Japan, and
Korea, all of those who volunteered to participate were international students from China.
This may have been a strength of the results, however, because of increased homogeneity
among the participants. Ten couples participated in the research, all of whom had been
married in China. Because married couples were recruited to be participants, 50% of the
sample was female and 50% of the sample was male. Participants ranged in age from 27
to 37, with a mean age of 3 1. Four of the couples had children. Twenty-ﬁve percent of
the participants reported incomes in the range of$ 15,000 or less, while 35% reported an
income of $15,001 to $35,000. Eight of the participants chose not to answer this question.
The mean number of years participants had spent in the United States was 2.7. For the
majority of couples, the husbands had come to the United States ﬁrst to begin graduate
studies with the wives and children joining them at a later date. More than likely, this
occurred due to the difﬁculty in obtaining visas for family members of international
students.

Twenty individuals completed a Demographic Questionnaire. All but one of the
participating husbands were graduate students, and 70% of the wives were also students.

The husband who was not a student had recently graduated with his Ph.D. and was

64

working part-time at a local automotive plant. Participants were asked to identify their
graduate student status (60% PhD. students; 20% master’s students; 20% non-students)
as well as the number of credit hours they were taking at the time of the study (10% 1-3
credits; 0% 4-7 credits; 70% 8-11 credits; 0% 12-15 credits). Sixty-nine percent of the
student participants identiﬁed the physical and biological sciences as their ﬁeld of study,
with 31% in business. All of the student participants except one were working part-time
in teaching or research assistantships provided by their departments. The one student who
did not have an assistantship was supported by a scholarship that paid for her tuition.

Table 4.1 presents a summary of the individual demographic variables.

65

Table 4.1: Summary of Demographic Variables Reported by
Individual Participants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demographic Variables N (%)

Gender

Male 10 (50%)

Female 10 (50%)
Educational Status

Ph.D. 12 (60%)

Master’s 4 (20%j

Non-student 4 (20%)
Field of Study]

Physical/biological sciences ll (69%)

Social sciences 0 (0%)

Arts/humanities 0 (0%)

Business 5 (31%)
Number of Credit HoursI

1-3 credits 2 (13%)

4-7 credits 0 (0%)

8-11 credits 14 (88%)

12-15 credits 0 (0%)
Employment2

Unemployed, not looking for work 2 (10%)

Unemployed, looking for work 0 (0%)

Employed part time 7 (3 5%)

Employed full time 6 (30%)

Other 2 (10%)
Children in Home

Yes 8 @0%)

No 12 (60%)
Income3

$15,000 or less 5 (25%)

$15,001-$35,000 7 (35%)

$35,001-$50,000 0 (0%j

$50,001-$75,000 0 (0%)

$75,001 or above 0 (0%)

 

N = 16 student participants

 

2Three participants chose not to answer this question.
3Eight participants chose not to answer this question.

Because some of the readers of this dissertation may not be familiar with

distinguishing between male and female Chinese names, Table 4.2 displays the

66

pseudonyms given to each participant. This table may serve as a reference to identify the
gender of the speaker in future portions of this dissertation.

Table 4.2: Participant Pseudonyms and Gender

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couple # Husband/Wife Pseudogym

1 Husband Chan
Wife Jia Li

2 Husband Yuan
Wife Shuang

3 Husband Shen
Wife Jing

4 Husband Wang
Wife Xiang

5 Husband Chung
Wife Lin Yao

6 Husband Wen
Wife Yu Ying

7 Husband Chen
Wife Chan Juan

8 Husband Hsin
Wife Fang Yin

9 Husband J in
Wife Huan Yue

10 Husband Shing
Wife Lei

 

 

 

 

Research Question #1: Inﬂuence of Natural Environment

As indicated by the original conceptual map, the natural environment was not
expected to have as much of an inﬂuence on the marital relationship as the social cultural
environment, and this expectation was held to be true. Although most of the participants
reported engaging in outdoor activities on an occasional basis, their graduate studies and
assistantship responsibilities kept them from enjoying the natural environment as much as
they would have liked. For example, Chan stated, “. . .we try to manage to have some
time, a decent amount of time to spend outside, okay, in the natural environment. To not

conﬁne ourselves behind, under the roof. . .we are kind of really busy in the academic

67

year.” Before beginning graduate school, however, participants described outdoor
activities that they enjoyed together, such as taking walks, ﬁshing, hiking, going to the
park, playing soccer, and traveling to see natural landmarks.

Despite its lack of inﬂuence on the marital relationship, however, the majority of
participants were struck by the perceived difference between the natural environment in
China and the natural environment in the American town in which they lived. They
described the natural environment in America as being more protected, while that in
China is being destroyed. Yuan stated, “The natural environment in (US city) is much
better than the environment in our country, simply because I think the natural
environment has been destroyed a lot in our home country.” In describing the contrast
between her home city and the city in which she was currently living, Lin Yao said, “But
here, we can see a lot of trees, ﬂowers, and yards, and I think it’s mostly because it’s not
a big city.”

Even in rural areas, however, Chen identiﬁed a primary difference in the natural
environment. He described how, because of the large number of people to feed in China,
all of the available ﬁelds were planted with rice and corn. He was very surprised when he
arrived as an agriculture student in America to ﬁnd that there were open ﬁelds with no
crops planted in them. According to the participants, the destruction of the natural
environment was directly linked to the state of the human-built environment. This link is

discussed further with the results of research question #3.

68

Research Question #2: Inﬂuence of Social-Cultural Environment
Inﬂuence of Macrosystem

It was expected that participants’ religious and cultural heritage and the social
construction of gender would be particularly inﬂuential on their marital relationships.
This expectation was veriﬁed through qualitative analysis. Within the macrosystem,
language, relationship expectations, Western cultural inﬂuence, and the inﬂuence of
communism were found to be signiﬁcant for participants.
Language

All of the participants mentioned the inﬂuence of language on their ability to
adjust to life in the United States. Although most Chinese students have had English
classes in their public education in China, the classroom training does not adequately
prepare them to be immersed in a world of English. Before they are permitted to study in
the United States, international students must complete the Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL). Although these students generally devote enormous amounts of time
to studying for this exam, they do not believe the exam is adequate preparation. As Wang
said,

When you ﬁrst come here, you don’t speak English. In order to study here,

we have to take the test, the TOEFL. What do we learn? For the test, we

call the English we learn dumb...Because even if you cram for the test,

what we learn is to understand. We can understand what you are saying.

The speaking is what we cannot do.
Lin Yao agreed, stating, “. . .we have English classes in middle school, high school, and

university. But it’s like reading and writing; it’s not like speaking.” According to Chan,

69

the most stressful thing about graduate school was writing papers because of the language
difference.

The language barrier also serves as a deterrent to adaptation to the new culture.
Jia Li said, “. . .because my English is not good and I’m not familiar with the culture here,
I spend most of time at home.” Yuan agreed, stating that the language barrier prevented
him from adapting to American culture and becoming friends with American students:

I think the problem, because we are not from a country where the native

language is English, is we refrain from talking to the Americans in very

deep ways. . .You may not be able to break the barrier very quickly or very

precisely the way you would in Chinese. So, this may hinder us from

adapting to American culture because we cannot talk to Americans in the

way you would use when you are in China.
Relationship Expectations

Cultural expectations regarding familial relationships were very inﬂuential in the
lives of the participants. Lei spoke of these relationship expectations as “unspoken rules.”
When asked to further clarify what those unspoken rules were, she said, “. . .maybe to
follow your husband. We need to obey our parents. . .We just have to be very careful with
what we do.” These expectations, however, are quickly changing as the West becomes
more inﬂuential in Eastern cultures. According to Wang,

...in old China, generally the marriage was determined by the parents.

And if one of the parents don’t agree, it’s very possible that the marriage

won’t happen...nowadays,...it’s up to the young man and young

70

woman. . .Marriage is up to the couple. . .the parents listen to their children,

what they want.

Despite some changes, however, the participants continued to speak of traditional
Chinese values regarding family relationships. Fang Yin spoke of her difﬁculty in
accepting Western ways, especially in regard to romantic relationships and dating. In
observing American culture, she stated, “I think some person seem to have many
different, you know, sex partner. For me, I cannot accept that. For our cultural
background I cannot accept a girl or a man have different girlfriends at the same time.”
Fang Yin also recognized the inﬂuence of Western culture on marital relationships, but
again, she chose not to accept those inﬂuences in her personal life. For example, she said,
“I think the man should be responsible for the whole family. . .Almost everything is half
and half here, but I cannot accept that. I’m not comfortable with that.” Lin Yao discussed
the differences regarding parent-child relationships in China and in the United States:

I think most of Chinese students worry about if they have children born in

America, they will be like American-style. . .They will be of a different

culture. . .one of my friends, she says, ‘I want to stay with my sons. I love

my sons, and when they are older, I would like to take care of my

grandchildren.’ But I said, ‘No. That’s not like American-style. They will

grow up and just be gone. . .You have no obligation to take provide for

your grandchildren. They will put them in daycare.’

Western Cultural Inﬂuence
The participants varied on their view of Western culture as a positive or negative

inﬂuence in Chinese culture. Some, such as Chung, attributed rising divorce rates in

71

China to the inﬂuence of Western culture. He stated, “. . .the younger people, they live by
themselves and not with their family. And I think it is easier to get a divorce. I think that
these are the reasons the Western culture is bad inﬂuence.” Hsin identiﬁed Western
culture as inﬂuential in the rising divorce rate, primarily because of increasing acceptance
of prostitution. He stated, “. . .some other things is prostitutes, the prostitute industry. In
China, before it’s unimaginable for women to walk in the streets, but now it’s open.” I in
also negatively viewed the inﬂuence of Western culture. He said, “. . .now more husbands
are following wife. That’s why we say the next generation may take the wife’s name.
This will be a dishonor for the husband.”

On the other hand, Wang and Xiang discussed the positive inﬂuences of Western
culture. Although they also expressed concern about the rising divorce rates in China,
they appreciated the sense of freedom and independence that has come along with
Western inﬂuence. Divorce once carried a stigma in China, but that stigma is beginning
to fade. Wang stated, “. . .if you are married and you get divorced, you can still live a
good life.” According to Xiang, Western culture is a positive inﬂuence because couples
are happier in their lives with one another. Her husband agreed, stating, “Maybe people
become excited by the lifestyle of the West. . .so because Americans seem very happy, so
they want to learn something from them.” Shen spoke about the positive inﬂuence of
Western culture, especially regarding how he interacts with his wife:

I think living here, uh, I pay more attention to my wife. . .because you

know, in (Chinese city), it is up to the husband to make some

decisions...maybe American culture, you know, they want females to be

really respected is much better.

72

Wen and Yu Ying also discussed the positive aspects of Western culture. They
spoke of being constrained by societal expectations in China. Now that they have moved
to the United States, they described a sense of freedom because people are no longer
watching what they do to make sure their lifestyle is congruent with cultural expectations.
Gender

Traditional roles. As expected, the social construction of gender role expectations
was very inﬂuential in the marital relationships of the participants. According to
participants, it is generally expected that Chinese couples will follow traditional gender
roles. One couple, Jin and Huan Yue, agreed to have a traditional family form. J in
described the traditional Chinese family:

The standard is a serious father and a loving mother. We teach our sons

and our daughters that fathers should be serious and teach the young

kids...But for mothers, it is their job to love them and maybe teach you

the warmth and care...the tradition in China is that the wife is for the

husband, and the husband must make many rules for the family...he

should make more money. If the wife makes rules in the family for the
husband, then we say that it’s not stabilized
This expectation of traditional roles was further described by Yuan and Shuang:

Yuan: The girls usually expect the boys to be more interested in their

career and earn more money for their family and earn a higher social

status for their family. The girls expect it. For the men, they expect the

girls to be focused on the family work, on the house work...This is what

the man and the woman in marriage will expect.

73

Shuang: ...husbands want to make more money to support the family.

They have the responsibility to earn money for the family, and the wife

can make no money. This is one dimension. But the other dimension, the

husband still wants the wife to be socialized, to have a job. The purpose is

not to make money because he already makes enough money for the

family.

It is interesting to note in the above conversation that although Shuang speaks of women
having the opportunity to work, she attributes the decision to the husband’s desire that his
wife be socialized rather than to the woman’s desire to work.

Flexible roles. Despite the expectation of traditional gender roles, however, this
expectation is changing quickly due to the inﬂuence of the Communist Party, which is
discussed below, and the inﬂuence of Western culture discussed above. Participants
described their own relationships as being characterized by role ﬂexibility. Their ability
to be ﬂexible in gender roles was a primary inﬂuence in their successful adjustment to
life in graduate school and in another country. During one semester, Jia Li took ﬁve
courses as an engineering major. When asked how her husband, who was also a student,
supported her during that time, she stated, “. . .the most important part is he spends some
time with (son’s name). . .He devote a whole lot of time to do that so I can have time to
study.” Speaking further of their role ﬂexibility, Jia Li said, “I cook the dinner. . .and he
cleans the room. . .we take turns to take care of (son’s name).” Her husband, Chan,
agreed, stating, “Sometimes, I just play the stay-at-home daddy.” When Chung and Lin
Yao were still in China, Chung was working on his master’s degree while Lin Yao had a

job. In describing their role ﬂexibility, Lin Yao stated,

74

In China, I buy everything for my husband because he’s doing research

and he’s a student. He has only worked for a month. He has always been

in school. But I have a job, so actually, I support him. I bought clothes and

everything for him.
Lin Yao also described how Chung supported her while she was studying for graduate
school entrance exams.

...if I want to go to graduate school...I have to ﬁnish two tests, one the

GRE test and the other one the TOEFL test...and during the time I was

preparing for the tests, he like cooked every meal for me for four

months. . ..Four months! I didn’t cook a single meal.

Wang and Xiang discussed the role ﬂexibility that is present in good marriages.
When Wang was in school in China, Xiang kept her job and supported them ﬁnancially.
Now that they are in the United States, however, Wang’s stipend from his assistantship
provides their income. He said, “Sometimes she support me. Sometimes I support her.”
Xiang agreed that in good marriages, the spouses are willing to be ﬂexible. She said,

...a lot of women have to work and they also have to do housework. So, if

a husband like his wife, he will take some part of the housework. That is a

good husband. In (Chinese city) a lot of men take care of their children.

Sacrificial wife. Another prevalent gender theme was that of the sacriﬁcial wife.
In all but one couple, it had been the husband’s desire to come to the United States to
study. Although most of the husbands had gone directly to graduate school after college,
most of the women had graduated from college and had ﬁnancially lucrative jobs in

China. Many of these women gave up their careers to be with their husbands in America

75

while the men ﬁnished their studies. Most of the women eventually enrolled in graduate
school in America, but it was not necessarily their original plan to do so. For some of
them, being in graduate school was a way to overcome the boredom that besets those
with F2 visa status. As Lei stated, “It was very difﬁcult to go back to school. . .Most
women had very good jobs in China, but here, they have to stay home and have a very
lonely life. So I am lucky.” Fang Yin agreed, stating, “Before I was a career lady, and at
ﬁrst I thought it would be very difﬁcult for me to be a housewife, you know.” Xiang
described how she had turned down a promotion in her company to be with her husband
in America:

I have a good job...the director had retired, and I was the only candidate

for the position. But I turned it down...When I come here, I not work for

half a year, and my company, they tried to get me to come back. So I

would have had a career in (Chinese city), but after one year, my husband

come here. The most important thing for us was to stay together.

Shuang was another participant who had had a good job in China that she gave up
to join her husband in America. She said,

...not working will not last very long, only as long as it takes my husband

to ﬁnish his program either we will go back to China or stay here. Then

my visa status would change, so I will be able to get a job in the future.

But right now, I already accepted that I would not be able to work if I

came here.

Lin Yao talked about the distress of ﬁnancial dependence she felt when she ﬁrst

arrived in America:

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...when I was in China, I had my own job and I could spend my money.

Actually, I am an MBA in China...I work in a company and I have a high

position. So my income is high. But here, I have no money, and I don’t

have income. So it has been hard for me...I used to hang out with my

ﬁiends, you know, and I would pay for dinner. It’s not a problem for me.

But now, it’s very different. . .I have to watch what I spend very carefully.

As stated above, there was one couple in which the wife sacriﬁcing a career in
China was not the case. In fact, for this couple, it was the husband who made a sacriﬁce
in order to be with his wife. Chan Juan was accepted into a graduate program in the
United States before her husband, Chen. When she decided to go to the United States for
graduate school, Chen was enrolled in a Ph.D. program in China that he enjoyed. Upon
being accepted into graduate school at the same American university as Chan Juan,
however, he dropped out of his Ph.D. program so he could join her in the states. They
both spoke of his sacriﬁce. Chan Juan stated, “Sacriﬁce is sometimes necessary. My
husband does not like his major very much, but he stays here at (school name) to be with
me.” Chen said,

I hate my major here. I am doing it for my wife. I was in a plant biology

Ph.D. program in China. I dropped out so I could come to America to be

with my wife. I am happy because I am with her.
Communism

In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party took control of China. Although

Westerners often view Communism as an oppressive form of government, the

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participants in this study saw Communism as somewhat of a liberating force for Chinese
women. According to J in,

Mostly in China when a couple gets married, the wife is for the husband,

go to the husband’s family. And also, the children of the wife belong to

the husband. But right now, we do not follow this anymore because of the

Communist Party ruling in China. They do not allow this.

Shen also noted the inﬂuence of the Chinese Communist Party in bringing changes to the
relationships between men and women. He said,

In 1949, the Communist Party came into power, so I think because of the

inﬂuence of Marxist, women could be equal. So, also I think, you know,

because traditionally women were regarded as lower importance to men so

you know women now want to do other things besides working in the

home. So this idea is different, you know, that man and woman are equal.

The Chinese Communist Party was also seen as being responsible for the lack of
religious inﬂuence in the lives of participants. Xiang stated, “. . .both of us are part of the
Communist Party in college, so we are taught that there is no God or nothing to believe
in.” Lin Yao agreed, stating, “In China, most people do not have a religion, you know.
We are Communist Party, but it’s kind of a religion. . ..”

Inﬂuence of Exosystem
Time Together

As stated previously, graduate school is often a time of stress for couples and

families due to the time constraints placed on the graduate student. Participants described

a lack of time to spend with their spouses and children due to class projects as well as

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assistantship responsibilities. Although they wish they could spend more time together,
spouses expressed an acceptance of this arrangement with the understanding that the
primary purpose for being in the United States was to complete their education and to do
so successfully. As Wang stated,
Because I want to get my degree, I’m not afraid of work. I understand it.
As long as I can support myself and my family, that’s ﬁne. I don’t care
how much I work. Now, do I always want to work that hard? (laughter)
Fang Yin spoke about how her responsibilities as a graduate student sometimes made her
feel inadequate as a wife. She said, “We don’t have lots of time to spend
together. . .Sometimes I think maybe I’m not a good wife. . ..” Chung and Lin Yao, who
are both students, talked about their acceptance of the current situation, but also their
desire to spend more time together.
Chung: ...it might bring some problems, but not often to my wife and
me...I know some other couples who have a problem because the wife is
not a student, but the husband has no time to spend time together. . .Really,
when we come we know that education is our priority and that it will take
a lot of time.
Lin Yao: ...I stay in (US city) every Thursday night because I have class
in the evening from 6:00 to 9:00, so I don’t come back. And sometimes
when I get home on Friday, I want to talk to him, but he says, ‘I’m busy
now.’ And sometimes I get angry because I want to talk to him. It’s not
like I’m not used to it, but for some reason I still do it. I think that in this

way it sometimes affects our relationship. Because we are all busy.

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The issue of time together because of school and assistantship responsibilities was
more prevalent among couples in which only one of the spouses was a student. For
example, Shen state , “. . .when I came here I’m very busy. I didn’t have much time as
before to accompany my wife. . .sometimes I can’t go with her places, but I will always
call her when I was in ofﬁce.” Jin also identiﬁed his busy schedule as a problem in the
marital relationship, stating,

...I think I work hard to make the family stable and to provide food and

money for them. But sometimes my wife complains that I ignore her,

because I work at the lab and sometimes I don’t come back until midnight.

Because of their visa status, non-student spouses of international students are not
permitted to work. Those who do not have children for whom to care described the
boredom they experienced. Xiang stated,

...because in (Chinese city), I have a job and I was a student in a design

department. So, I’m very bored when I come here. I cannot work or do

anything, so I’m very depressed for almost a half year.
Lin Yao agreed, stating, “It was very difﬁcult, yeah. You know, at ﬁrst, when I arrived
here at ﬁrst, I was sort of lonely because I just stayed at home.” After being able to get
their visa status changed, both Xiang and Lin Yao enrolled in graduate school.
Relationships with Advisors/Professors

For the student participants, their relationships with their advisors and professors
were inﬂuential in their ability to adjust to their new academic environment. For
example, Chen stated that he hates his doctoral program because he has problems with

his advisor. His wife, Chan Juan, however, has a good relationship with her advisor. As a

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result, she enjoys her program. Shing also reported how a positive relationship with his
advisor has made his time here more enjoyable. He stated, “I think I met a good
supervisor. He has lots of ideas that I can do. . .my supervisor also provided me with some
ﬁnancial support.”

Wen talked about the differences in graduate school in China and in the United
States. He has felt that his professors in America have been more encouraging and
supportive of him. At the same time, however, he believes he is under more pressure here
because he meets with his professor on a weekly basis rather than monthly as he did in
China. Fang Yin has had a different experience with her primary advisor. She felt
relieved that he understood her unique position as an international student and her need to
do well in her studies. She said, “. . .I think my advisor is very nice. He knows my studies
very busy. . .he tells me, ‘Focus on your studies.’ . . .He didn’t push me for a lot of
research. He said, ‘Don’t worry about that. You can do that later.”’ According to Shen,
his professors provide the most important type of support to him as a student: “You
know, the most important type (of support). . .is really I think from the professors. . .they
can help answer questions about starting my career is the most important thing. . .our
communication with professors and faculty are more important.”

Inﬂuence of Mesosystem

This particular subset of the social-cultural environment was predicted to be
inﬂuential in the lives of international graduate students. Particularly related to marital
relationships, the most inﬂuential mesosystem factors were the roles of family and

ﬁiends and the presence of children in the family.

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Family

In China, children are expected to care for their parents as they get older. This
obligation is especially important for the eldest son in the family. Shen described his
responsibility to his family as follows: “You are supposed to take responsibility,
especially if you are the older son. You are then obligated to take care of your
parents. . .sons of the family are supposed to give money to their parents.”

Because of the participants’ current location in the United States, they described
the ﬂexibility among their siblings in caring for the parents in their absence. In Xiang’s
family, there are four sisters and no brothers. She described how her other sisters are
caring for her mother in her absence. Shing described how his two younger sisters are
caring for his parents while he is completing his studies:

It is supposed to be that I take more responsibility for caring for them. But

because right now, we are here, and I have two younger sisters there, they

can take care of my parents...there will come a point when I should take

responsibility, but right now, I am not there in my hometown.

In 1977, China instituted a law that prohibited families from having more than
one child. As a result of this policy, younger couples must fulﬁll the obligation to take
care of both sets of parents as they age. Lin Yao described the stress associated with this
situation:

...I think most of my ﬁiends...they are younger than me, you know. And

most of them have only one child in the family, so during the

weekend. . .it’s not like you just don’t take care of your parents. . .so maybe

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on Saturday, they are traveling to one parent’s house to look after the

parents and then on Sunday, they go to the other side’s house.

Unlike Western culture where the primary family unit has historically included
the spouses or partners and their children, the primary family unit in China has
historically consisted of the married couple, their children, and the husband’s parents.
Not only do adult children have an obligation to care for their aging parents, but parents
also take responsibility for raising their grandchildren. Xiang stated, “. . .in China, if you
have parents, they can take care of their grandsons and their granddaughters for you.
They believe that is their responsibility.” Huan Yue agreed, saying, “The grandparents
bring up their grandchildren is normal. Because we are both working in China, so we
have excuse not to bring up our children.”

According to the participants, the relationship with in-laws sometimes determines
the quality of a couple’s marriage. Lin Yao said, “You know sometimes, maybe if the
daughter-in—law or son-in-law doesn’t like their father-in-law or mother-in-law, they will
have trouble. It will inﬂuence your marriage.” Yuan agreed, stating

...another phenomenon is whether the husband goes to the parents-in-law

to have dinner with them or whether the wife will go to her parents-in-law

to have dinner with them is very important. This can help you see whether

a marriage is good or not.

Lei spoke at length about how her relationship with her mother-in-law negatively
affected her marital relationship. While Lei and her husband are completing their studies
in the United States, their two children are being raised by her mother-in-law in China.

Her parents-in-law brought the children to the United States and lived with Lei and Shing

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for a year and a half in their efﬁciency apartment in graduate student housing. She
reported not enjoying their visit because of having to live with them and feeling nervous
around them. She also expressed some resentment at the expectation that her husband’s
parents would take the place of her own parents. She stated:

I don’t know how to handle them. And I cannot. In China, I supposed to

call my husband’s parents the same as my parents, mom and dad. I can’t

call them that! I have my own mom. And I don’t think I can accept that. . .I

can’t stand my husband’s mother. . .I think maybe she don’t like me

because I didn’t call her mom...l cannot handle so many relatives in his

family.

Wang and Xiang also acknowledged how the parents-in-law can negatively affect
a marriage.

Xiang: I think in China, a lot of young couples never live together.

Wang: They cannot afford it.

Xiang: They live with their parents. So this can affect their happiness.

While most of the participants spoke of missing their other family members who
remained in China, they were accustomed to living far away from their parents. Many of
the participants had left home at an early age in order to go to better schools than were
available in their hometowns. For example, Jia Li left home when she was just 13 years
old. As a result, she reported not missing her family very much. Shen reported a similar
experience, stating,

It’s not hard, you know. My home was in North China, but I went to

(Chinese city) to study for my degree...and then I bought a house in

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(Chinese city) and lived there, so I was away from my parents for about 11

years before I came here.

It was common for husbands to report missing their families and keeping in touch
with their families more often than it was for wives. This may be due to the fact that,
according to Chinese cultural traditions, sons are expected to care for their parents as they
grow older. Wen described his close relationship with his mother, saying that he
sometimes calls her too much, and she gets upset with him for spending so much money
on long distance calls. When he told her that the phone cards were already paid for, she
encouraged him to call more often. Chen expressed concern about the well-being of his
parents. He said, “I miss my family very much. My mother has heart disease. My father is
retired, so I send them some money. . .I call my parents every week. We are very close.”
Friends

Having friendships with other Chinese students as well as Americans was a vital
part of the participants’ ability to adjust to their new surroundings. Friends were reported
to be a source of information, social support, and companionship. All of the participants
spoke of the importance of making ﬁiends when they ﬁrst arrived in the United States. It
was during this transition that ﬁiends were primarily a source of information and social
support. In describing the importance of ﬁiends during this time, Yuan stated

They help a lot, especially when you come here and you do not have a car

and do not know where to go to get the clothes, to get the food. You don’t

know where to go to handle those kinds of things. So your ﬁiends try to

help you. They tell you how to get there. They give you suggestions, very

good opinions. . .I think it is very important for foreigners who come here

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to study to make friends so they have someone to help them through those

difﬁcult times.

When I in ﬁrst came to the United States, his wife did not join him because she
was pregnant at the time. He described how his roommate helped him: “I missed my wife
a lot because she was pregnant. . .And also because I was just starting graduate school.
And I needed someone to talk about it with.” Chinese students who came to the United
States prior to the participants served as vital links between Chinese and American
culture. Jin said, “I had a roommate. He was a good guy. He came from (US university)
so he helped me to adjust here and also tell me about the culture.”

American friends, most of whom the participants met at church-related activities,
were also seen as a source of support. When she was applying for graduate school, Lin
Yao had several American friends who helped her:

My American ﬁiends they also give me a lot of help from like language

and how to talk to people and like when I was applying for graduate

school, they help me to revise my paperwork, like writing the application

form. . .They helped me to look it over and make sure it was okay.

Friends also served as a source of companionship for the participants. Chan and
J ia Li described their friends as being their family while they are here in the United
States. Wang described his friends as providing relief from the stresses of studying and
conducting research:

...we try to make ﬁiends with other Chinese families because really when

you are here, you need to make friends because there is no one else. In

China, you have a circle of ﬁiends. Here the Chinese students make their

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own circle of friends. . .you would be really alone without ﬁiends. . .We

cannot work all the time.

Shen talked about how he and his wife have made ﬁiends with other Chinese
couples. He stated, “Sometimes we will hang around with some other Chinese couples
and go to some restaurant for some dinner...” Chen said that he and his wife celebrate the
Chinese holidays with their friends since their families are not here. Friends are also an
important source of help in other areas such as moving apartments, teaching one another
how to drive, studying for exams together, and listening when one is feeling depressed or
angry.

Presence of Children

Four of the participating couples had children at the time of the interviews: (1)
Chan and Jia Li had a three-year-old son; (2) Yuan and Shuang had a ﬁve-year-old
daughter; (3) Jin and Huan Yue had a two-year-old son; and (4) Shing and Lei had two
children, a ﬁve-year—old son and a two-year-old daughter. Upon being asked to describe
how having children had changed their marital relationship, most of them identiﬁed the
presence of children as a positive inﬂuence. Chan spoke about how the birth of their son
had led to an increased appreciation and understanding between him and his wife. Jia Li
agreed that their relationship had improved since their son was born. J in and Huan Yue
talked about how their relationship has improved since the birth of their son:

I in: It’s changed a lot (the marital relationship). First, I think we were

alone and before then my wife complained a lot. But right now, because

both of us, we like to spend a lot of time with my son. We are most

focused on him. We think our relationship is more smooth.

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Huan Yue: I agree that our relationship is more strong with him. We are

more happy in our roles as parents because as parents we can take care of

our son and communicate more.

The participants recognized, however, that having children led to a decrease in
freedom. Chan recognized this aspect of having a child, stating, “It’s not a two people
world anymore.” He discussed the decreased freedom he and Jia Li had experienced since
the birth of their son and the necessity to put his needs ﬁrst. Yuan also spoke about this
loss of freedom and spontaneity upon having children. She said, “. . .the difference is that
when deciding what we will do tomorrow or what we will do on the weekend, we need to
have arrangements for her.”

Several of the participants had spent some time away from their children. Yuan’s
wife and daughter had joined him in America just two weeks prior to the interview. He
had been separated from them for four years. Huan Yue had given birth to her son in
China while her husband, Jin, was in the United States. Huan Yue joined I in shortly after
the birth of their son, but Jin’s parents raised their son for the ﬁrst 2 years of his life. At
the time of the interview, Huan Yue had just returned from China a week earlier because
she had gone to get her son and bring him to the United States.

Lei also gave birth to her son while her husband, Shing, was studying in the
United States. She joined Shing shortly after their son’s birth, leaving him with Shing’s
parents. Once in America, she unexpectedly became pregnant again and gave birth to a
daughter. Shing’s parents came to the States for a year and a half, during which time Lei
was able to see her son again. They returned to China, taking both of the children with

them. Unlike the other participants, however, Lei expressed great distress in being

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separated from her children. In discussing the decision to send the children to China, Lei
stated, “. . .it was his decision to send them back. He think it is difﬁcult to support a
family right now. I don’t know. Sometimes I just hate him.” When asked if the marital
relationship had changed since the birth of their children, she said, “. . .my husband did
not change. No, nothing. One thing is that before we have kids, maybe it’s easier for me
to just divorce. Sometimes I don’t like him, but for my kids. . ..” Shing expressed his
conﬁdence in the well being of his children but was also somewhat dismayed at being
separated from them. He said, “I call them every week. . .now they don’t care that much.
If they have a toy, they do not want to talk to me. . .but I know they are comfortable.”
Inﬂuence of Microsystem

The microsystem, as described previously, consists of those processes that take
place between the marital couple. Those microsystem inﬂuences that were found to be
inﬂuential included problem-solving communication, expression of affection, spousal
support, and spousal separation.
Problem-Solving Communication

When asked how they go about solving problems together, all of the participants
stressed the importance of good communication. Most of them identiﬁed compromise as
the primary means by which they solved problems. When asked how he and his wife
solve problems, Chen humorously said, “I apologize to her.” More seriously, he stated,
“We make decisions together because we need each other’s advice.” I in emphasized the
importance of agreement between him and his wife when solving a problem or making a

decision. He said, “. . .before the decision is made, I think we should both agree. We

89

cannot choose one if we disagree.” Yuan described how he and his wife go about solving
problems:

If we have different opinions about one thing, and I think one way and she

thinks another way, then we try to solve the problem by communicating.

We communicate with each other and try to solve the problems,

sometimes one side or the other side. If both sides have a common theme,

then we will try to convert the different opinions into one opinion. This is

the way we will try to solve the problem.

Some couples were open with the fact that an effort to problem-solve sometimes
turns into an argument. For example, Shen said, “Sometimes we just argue. But also the
other thing is that we just forget about it and go on.” Chan and J ia Li discussed how they
go about solving problems, and Jia Li admitted her tendency to get angry:

Chan: I think we talk about that and get it solved...in the ﬁrst minute.

That’s just my style, but not yours.

Jia Li: Usually when we have problems, I’m very angry. I will keep silent

and just be. Usually he’s the ﬁrst one to get us...

Chan: Let’s talk.

Jia Li: ...to talk.

Hsin and Fang Yin discussed the changes in their relationship regarding problem-solving.
When they were ﬁrst married, they would often quarrel, but now they are able to sit down
and talk with one another. When asked how they had been able to achieve this, Hsin

stated, “Sometimes I hold my ﬁre. She also do that. I think that’s best in every situation.”

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Despite the effort to compromise, several couples identiﬁed the husband as the
primary decision-maker. For example, Jia Li said, “. . .he need to discuss it with me, but
ﬁnally, he will be the person who make that ﬁnal decision. . .but he need to consult me.”
When asked how they go about making decisions, Lei and Shing had the following
discussion:

Lei: He makes all of them. . .He doesn’t ask me.

Shing: Sometimes I will listen to her opinion.

Lei: You never listen to my opinion.

Shing: That’s because most of the time, it is not reasonable.

Lei: ...he always thinks he is right.

Shing: I just make the decisions because I know they are good. But it

depends on if you have a good opinion or not. If you have a good opinion,

of course I will listen to you.

From the preceding conversation, it is obvious that Lei is resentful toward her
husband for not valuing her opinion. Despite his claim that her opinion is important to
him, he has the power to decide when her opinions are valid and reasonable, leaving Lei
with little decision-making power. As discussed in the previous section on children, Lei
was particularly angry about Shing’s decision to send their children to China to be raised
by his parents. Despite Lei’s desire that the children remain with them, Shing was the one
to make the ﬁnal decision.

Expression of Affection
The participants seemed somewhat reluctant to share regarding this area of their

relationship, which may reﬂect the privacy with which they approach personal

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relationships. They did, however, stress the importance of showing love to one another
through daily activities rather than through romantic gestures. For example, Yuan said,
“We show love both inside and outside. Outside through language and also through body
actions. Through what we do in daily life.” Wang agreed, stating, “Every once in a while
I will buy her a gift or some ﬂowers or something like this. We do not do this very often.
We try our best to help each other, to be very nice.” The researcher was somewhat
surprised to hear Chan’s and Jia Li’s description of showing love for one another because
of the apparent reversal of gendered behavior expectations.

J ia Li: ...I will do something for him. Make him feel like I care about him,

but I guess I don’t like to express. I don’t like to say it, but I can do

something like cook dinner for him. Do something for him. He likes to say

it.

Chan: ...1 get excited. . .it’s a really exciting moment, then I will say,

‘Yeah, give me a hug.’. . .I like to say it, to express it.

Despite the belief, however, that marriages in Asian cultures are not characterized
by passionate feelings, some of the participants expressed very strong feelings for their
spouses. Yuan and Shuang were separated for several years before Shuang came to the
United States. Yuan expressed his distress while Shuang was separated from him:

...it’s like when you are very thirsty, you want to get some water, but

okay, you can’t have water. Right now, you are in (US city). There is no

water here. I need to go to China to get the water. It helped that I get to

come back to live there once a year in the summer, so I was very happy

then...After I came here and I was separated from my wife and daughter

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and then I realize the most painful thing is to be separated from your wife

or husband.
Spousal Support

Participants described their spouses as being a primary support system for them as
they completed their graduate studies. Wen and Yu Ying are both graduate students in the
same department. As a result, they are able to more directly support one another as
students. Wen said, “. . .it helps because I know that professor and how he teaches, and I
let her know what he will do and how to do better in the class.” Jin attributed his ability
to attend graduate school in the United States to the support provided to him by his wife,
Huan Yue. She agreed with his decision to come to America, and she maintained her job
in China to ﬁnancially support the family. She also helped him to study for entrance
exams. While they were separated, Yuan described how Shuang supported him. He said,

...she supported me by communication. We talked a lot on the weekends

through long distance calls. And by not letting me worry about the family

in China. She allowed me to focus on my studies and not worry about

anything in China. She took care of it.
Despite the support she provided him from China, however, Yuan was very pleased when
Shuang decided to join him in the United States. In describing his feelings about her
arrival two weeks before the interview, he stated, “. . .I’m very happy about that.
Otherwise, I could not hold up. I may have quit. You never know. It was very hard. So,
I’m glad she will be staying. Too much time apart. Too much time.”

Many participants identiﬁed ﬂexibility in gender roles as being a primary way in

which they supported one another while in graduate school. When J ia Li carried a

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particularly heavy load one semester, Chan took on more of the childcare responsibilities
so she could concentrate on her studies. He saw this behavior, however, as somewhat
selﬁsh. In describing his supportive role during that time, he stated,
...I would not say that I made the most contribution cause I took care of
(child’s name) for double of her time. I wouldn’t say that because I would
feel that I should do that because I should be in a very good supportive
role under that circumstances in any condition. Because if I play the
supportive role the best I can, she will be able to focus everything on her
study. And that’s also very crucial to the whole family. . .I do that because
I’m selﬁsh because I want her to be good. I want the whole family to be
good.
Chan also described how Jia Li supports him in his studies:
...the best thing that Jia Li does in supporting my role as a graduate
student or as a husband or as a dad is she takes full care of herself. . .She is
very independent. She is very capable. She is very conﬁdent in her major,
and I’m really proud of that. It’s not like she can only talk the talk but not
walk the walk. She can talk the talk and walk the walk very brilliantly.
And I feel very proud of that.
Spousal Separation
All of the participating couples had spent an extended time apart from their
spouses at some point during their marriage. Wang and Xiang spent time apart in China
as well as when Wang ﬁrst arrived in the United States. In describing their time apart

while in China, Xiang stated,

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...we were apart for a long time because he worked in a different city.

And I worked while he got his master’s degree in China. So even when we

were both in (Chinese city) far apart, we lived apart. So we got together

every Friday night, and we were alone Monday through Thursday.

Several of the participants’ children were born in China while they were studying
in the United States. Shing said, “. . .at that time, she was pregnant, and she had our son
during that year, so it was very difﬁcult. To me, that was not very good because I did not
get to see my son for a year.” Table 4.3 displays how long each couple had been married
and the length of time each spouse had been in the United States at the time of the
interview. As the table shows, most of the couples had been separated for at least six

months.

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Table 4.3: Length of Time in United States & Length of Marriage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couple # Length of Time in US Length of
Marriage

Couple #1
Chan (H) 3 years 4 years
Jia Li (W) 2 years

Couple #2
Yuan (H) 4 years 10 years
Shuang (W) 2 weeks

Couple #3
Shen (H) 2 years 4 years
J igg (W) 1.5 years

Couple #4
Wang (H) 2 years 5 years
Xiang (W) 1.5 years

Couple #5
Chung (H) 7 years 3 years
Lin Yao (W) 3 gears

Couple #6
Wen (H) 2.5 years 3 years
Yu Ying (W) 2 years

Couple #7
Chen (H) Missing data 3 years
Chan Juan (W) Missig data

Couple #8
Hsin (H) 3 years 3 years
Fang Yin (W) 2.5 years

Couple #9
Jin (H) 2.5 years 7 years
Huan Yue (W) 1 year

Couple #10
Shing (H) 5 years 6 years
Lei (W) 4 years

 

 

H = Husband; W = Wife
Inﬂuence of Individual Factors
Individual factors were not found to be particularly inﬂuential in participants’
marital relationships through qualitative analysis. Participants were, however, asked to
describe their personalities to the researcher. These descriptions can be found in Table

4.4.

96

Table 4.4: Participants’ Descriptions of Personality

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Participant Personality Description

Chan (H1) Outgoing & reserved; analytical & passionate; not dominated by
feelings; optimistic & conﬁdent; loves sports & competition

Jia Li (W1) Nice; easygoing; guiet; very emotional

Yuan (H2) Perseverance; sometimes not very pleasant; not proactive to
communicate; independent

Shuang (W2) In the middle of open and closed; likes to make ﬁiends;
independent

Shen (H3) Responsible & conscientious; like to make friends with other
cultures

Jing (W3) Quiet; get along with others; nice

Wang (H4) Love to help others; responsible; understanding

Xiang (W4) Positive, optimistic & pessimistic

Chung (H5) Likes to solve own problems

Lin Yao (W5) Helpful; like to make ﬁiends; like to talk to people; straightforward

Wen (IQ) Humble; modest

Yu Ying (W6) Determined

Chen (H7) Likes to be free; doesn’t like to be controlled by others; honest

Chan Juan (W7) Not very outgoing; feels more comfortable with old ﬁiends rather
than making new ones

Hsin (H8) Hardworking; persistent

Fang Yin (W8) Hardworking; diligent; honest; helpful; fast temper

Jin (H9) Quiet; likes small group of ﬁiends; likes to spend time with wife
and son

Huan YueJW9) Missing data

Shing (H10) Adaptive; hardworking; not outspoken

Lei (W10) Nice; intolerable of others’ weaknesses

 

H = Husband; W = Wife; the number in parentheses represents the couple number

Participants were also asked to describe their physical health. All of them reported

that they are in good health, except for one participant who had been surprised to

discover upon having her medical exams for admission to graduate school that she tested

positive for tuberculosis. Despite this serious diagnosis, however, the participant reported

never having experienced any symptoms of the disease. The rest of the participants

reported only minor health problems such as colds and allergies.

97

 

Research Question #3: Inﬂuence of Human-Built Environment

The researcher was surprised to ﬁnd that this environment was discussed
frequently by participants. Although it was originally expected that this environment
would not be a signiﬁcant factor in the lives of participants, it was much more inﬂuential
than predicted. The participants did not speak of this environment as being inﬂuential in
their marital relationship, but it was described as being very inﬂuential in their ability to
adjust to life in the United States.

Size of C ity/Population

Most of the participants came to the United States from large Chinese cities. As a
result, they were struck by the population difference as well as the difference in the size
of the city from which they came and the city in which they were currently studying.
Chan and Jia Li talked about this disparity in population:

Jia Li: In China, we can never ﬁnd a place without people...

Chan: Like this kind (referring to the empty lobby of the dorm in which

the interview was being conducted)

Jia Li: Everywhere is ﬁlled with people. (both laughing and agreeing)

Chan described how the smaller population helped him to feel at case. He stated,
“. . .population-wise, it’s not like that populated here. Sharp comparison. . .sometimes
maybe feel more peace of mind in a sense.” Yu Ying disagreed. She felt less secure
because of the lack of people. “Sometimes you walk around and there are no people
around, and you say ‘Oh.’ . . .Sometimes I feel safer when there are more people around

though.”

98

Referring to the size of the city in which she was studying, J ia Li also spoke about
her expectation that all of the United States would look like Manhattan in New York
City. When she arrived in the city in which her husband was enrolled in graduate school,
she was surprised to ﬁnd that she would be living in a relatively rural area. She stated that
she immediately missed her home and felt alone. Yuan and Shuang, despite coming from
a large city in China, reported enjoying life in the smaller town in which Yuan was
studying. Yuan stated, “. . .maybe I will choose this kind of life. It’s a lot easier than the
life in the big city.” Lei also enjoyed life in the small city as opposed to the big city.
Although she missed the city life when she ﬁrst arrived in the United States, now that she
has gotten used to it, she reported that she would like to stay here if she had the choice.

Transportation

Another signiﬁcant concern of the participants, especially when they ﬁrst arrived
in the United States, was transportation. Of course, none of the participants arrived in
America with their own vehicle, and they had been accustomed to using public
transportation or riding a bicycle in China. All of the participants spoke about the sense
of isolation they had because they were initially conﬁned to graduate student housing and
the campus. Chan said, “. . .when we arrived here, we didn’t have the car yet, so you
know it’s really limited where we can go. . ..” Because of the arrangement of the cities in
which they had studied, they were unable to walk or bike to the grocery store or the mall.
Lin Yao stated,

...it was a very difficult adjustment. Yes, in (US city) the public

transportation, the buses, you know, they run on hours. You have to wait

99

one hour for another bus to come. But in China, maybe 10 minutes, 5

minutes. We have a lot of buses. . ..

For some of the wives who were not students, the lack of public transportation
contributed to their isolation. Even if they did own a car, most of them were unable to
drive. Xiang said, “. . .I did not feel very comfortable here because you have to drive
constantly, and I do not drive.” Huan Yue agreed, stating, “I don’t know how to drive a
car, so it’s bad for me.”

On the other hand, some participants described not having to use public
transportation as a positive aspect to their new city. For example, Wang stated,

Actually, we have a vehicle. We have a car, so we don’t need the

transportation, the public transportation. On the contrary, we think the

transportation here in America is quite all right. We can get where we

want easily. In (Chinese city), we spend a lot of time in transportation.

Yuan agreed, stating, “When you have to take the public transportation, you need
to spend two hours on the road. . .taking public transportation is more tiring than the work
and takes more energy ﬁ'om me.” Shing and Lei discussed how having their own car has
given them freedom that they did not have in China.

Link Between Natural and Human Built Environments

The participants drew a direct link between the state of the natural environment
and the human-built environment. All of the participants stated that the natural
environment in the United States was better than that in their home country. This was
attributed to the population in China as well as rapid economic development. For

example, Huan Yue stated, “. . .the environment is better here because in our city that we

100

are from, you cannot see a lot of trees because there are always high buildings and a
whole bunch of people.” Wang described his home city as “concrete.” Yuan pointed out
that while the United States has not experienced a war on its soil since the Civil War,
China has been plagued with wars throughout the 20th century:

We have many civil wars and wars against foreigners that destroyed it (the

natural environment) all...For the USA, America, there are no wars. You

do not have such a problem as my people, the war, because you do not

enter into this kind of operation, so the natural environment is very

natural, protected.

Analysis of Quantitative Data

As stated previously, in addition to qualitative interviews, participants were also
asked to complete the MSI-R, the SL-ASIA and the OQ 45.2. The data from these
instruments were used to triangulate the qualitative data and were used for descriptive
purposes only. More speciﬁcally, the quantitative data were used to provide a measure of
consistency between participants’ verbal reports and their answers on standardized
measures.

Analysis of MSI-R Data

The MSI-R is a measure of marital satisfaction that contains eleven subscales: (1)
Global Distress; (2) Affective Communication; (3) Problem-Solving Communication; (4)
Aggression; (5) Time Together; (6) Disagreement about Finances; (7) Sexual
Dissatisfaction; (8) Role Orientation; (9) Family History of Distress; (10) Dissatisfaction
with Children; and (11) Conﬂict over Child Rearing. Participants were also asked

qualitative questions concerning each of these general areas. Participants’ answers to the

101

qualitative questions were cross-referenced with their responses on the MSI-R. In
addition to the eleven subscales described above, the MSI-R also contains two validity
subscales, the Inconsistency Scale and the Conventionalization Scale. Table 4.5 contains
the mean and standard deviation for each subscale of the MSI-R.

Table 4.5: Means and Standard Deviations of MSI-R Subscales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscale Mean SD
Inconsistency 55.25 8.91
Conventionalization 52.40 9.12
Global Distress 51.35 7.80
Affective Communication 51.50 7.49
Problem-Solving Communication 50.05 7.78
Aggression 53.25 9.66
Time Together 48.20 6.11
Disagreement about Finances 48.90 6.07
Sexual Dissatisfaction 49. 1 0 8.73
Role Orientation 52.40 5.64
Family History of Distress 45.45 7.04
Dissatisfaction with Children 49.75 8.53
Conﬂict over Child Rearing 51.25 6.43

 

As seen in the above table, the mean score for the Inconsistency subscale is 55.25.
Overall, this score indicates that the participants may have mixed sentiments regarding
their marital relationships (Snyder, 1997). This seems to be consistent with verbal reports
provided by the participants. Although few of them overtly complained about their
marriages, it seemed that the majority of participants were aware of problems within the
relationship. The mean score of the Conventionalization subscale indicates that
participants acknowledged general relationship distress but may have been reluctant to
specify the sources of their dissatisfaction (Snyder, 1997).

The mean score of the Global Distress subscale was 51.35, which falls in the

possible problem area. According to Snyder (1997), individuals who fall in this range

102

experience signiﬁcant levels of relationship distress but still describe their marital
relationships as primarily positive. These results seem to be consistent with the
qualitative data. As stated above, while the majority of the participants presented
themselves as happily married, they did not pretend as if their relationships were perfect.
The Affective Communication subscale provides an indication of one’s satisfaction with
the amount of affection that is expressed in a relationship. The mean for this subscale was
51.50, indicating that the participants may feel emotionally distant ﬁ'om their spouses
(Snyder, 1997). Participants’ verbal reports indicated that they do not go to special
lengths to express their affection for one another but do so through the small acts of daily
life. The participants admitted that they do not tend to be romantic in the same ways that
American couples are, and this may be a factor in the moderate score obtained on this
subscale.

The mean score on the Problem—Solving Communication subscale was 50.05.
This score indicates that participants argue frequently and that they deal poorly with
problems (Snyder, 1997). When asked speciﬁcally about problem-solving, multiple
participants admitted that they often get into arguments, but compromise and
communication were also emphasized. No speciﬁc questions were asked that could be
triangulated with the Aggression subscale. The mean score of 53.25 indicates that
nonphysical intimidation and low levels of aggression were present among the
participants (Snyder, 1997).

The Time Together subscale indicates the participants’ satisfaction with the
amount of time they spend together as well as the level of similarity in their interests. The

mean score of 48.20 indicates that the participants regarded their spouses as good ﬁiends

103

and were satisﬁed with the amount of time they had to spend together. While participants
expressed a desire to spend more time together, however, they also seemed to accept the
fact that the ﬁrst priority for being in the United States was to complete their education.

The mean score on the Disagreements about Finances subscale indicates that this
particular area did not pose a problem for participants. While most of the participants
were making less money than they had in China, they were grateful for the ﬁnancial
support they were receiving from the graduate school. Although several of them
expressed a desire to spend money more frivolously, they again seemed to have an
understanding that the ﬁrst priority was graduate school rather than living lavishly while
in the United States. Most of the participants reported having a strict budget that was
followed by the entire family. Participants were not asked any direct interview questions
about their sexual life together, but the mean score on the Sexual Dissatisfaction subscale
indicates that sexuality was not a problem area for the participants.

The Role Orientation subscale provides an indication of each individual’s ideals
about gender roles. The mean score of this sample indicates ﬂexibility in the sharing of
stereotypical gender role responsibilities (Snyder, 1997). Based on the results of
qualitative analysis, it was expected that participants would fall into this range. The
participants repeatedly discussed how they had been ﬂexible in their gender roles in order
to accommodate one another’s and the family’s needs. The mean score of 45.45 on the
Family History of Distress subscale indicates that there are signiﬁcant tensions in their
families of origin. As described by Snyder (1997), individuals scoring in this range may
have had parents who had “difﬁculties in expressing affection or resolving differences”

(p. 25). Despite these quantitative ﬁndings, participants’ verbal reports did not

104

necessarily indicate a great deal of distress with their families of origin. These results
may again indicate a cultural difference between Chinese and Western ideals.

The participants who had children answered questions for the Dissatisfaction with
Children and Conﬂict over Childrearing subscales. The mean score for Dissatisfaction
with Children indicates that participants had generally satisfying relationships with their
children. The mean score for Conﬂict over Childrearing, on the other hand, indicates that
this area may be a problem for participants. For these families, conﬂicts regarding
division of childcare are most likely common occurrences (Snyder, 1997).

As stated previously, participants’ verbal reports describing their marriages were
compared to their responses on the MSI-R. Tables 4.7-4.16 present a brief comparison for
each couple for the subscales about which participants were asked speciﬁc interview
questions. Table 4.6 displays the subscale and the interview question from which verbal
response were gathered.

Table 4.6: MSI-R Subscales and Interview Questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MSI-R Subscale Interview Question

Affective Communication How do the two of you go about showing
one another that you love each other?

Problem-Solving Communication How do the two of you solve problems
together?

Time Together How has your marital relationship changed
since one/both spouses started graduate
school?

Role Orientation What role does each of you play in your
marriage?

FamilyHistory of Distress Tell me about your family back in China.

Conﬂict Over Childrearing How has your marital relationship changed
since you had chidren?

 

 

105

 

Table 4.7: Comparison of Couple #1 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Category Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Good “I like to say it, to express it.”

Wife

Possible problem

“I don’t like to say it, but I can do
something like cook dinner for
him.”

 

Problem-Solving Communication

 

 

 

 

 

Husband Good “I think we talk about that and get
it solved.”
Wife Possible problem “Usually, when I’m angry. . .I just
don’t want to speak.”
Time Together
Husband Good Not much ﬁee time to focus on
each other
Wife Possible problem Missingdata
Role Orientation '
Husband Moderate (ﬂexible) “The bad image is if someone is
superior over the other party.”
Wife Moderate (ﬂexible) “. . .he need to discuss it with me,
but ﬁnally, he will be the person
who make that ﬁnal decision.”
Family History of Distress
Husband Good The job of the family is to “create
closeness.”
Wife Problem Left her family when she was 13
Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband Good Appreciation and understanding
of each other have increased
since child was born
Wife Good Birth of child made relationship

 

 

better

 

Couple #1 ’s MSI-R results were not surprising based on the verbal data they

provided. It is important to note that Chan’s scores on the Conventionalization subscale

indicated that he responded to questions in a socially desirable direction. This is veriﬁed

by his scores falling in the good range. Throughout the interview, Jia Li was more

pessimistic about the relationship than her husband, and this is evident by her scores

falling primarily in the possible problem or problem range. Based on their discussion of

how having a child had changed their marriage, it was not at all surprising that they both

106

 

scored in the good range for Conﬂict Over Childrearing. Both of them verbally reported

that the birth of their son had improved their marital relationship.

Table 4.8: Comparison of Couple #2 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Catpgo_ry Verbal Report
Affective Communication

Husband Good Missing data

Wife Good “We show love both inside and
outside. . .through what we do in
daily life.”

Problem-Solving Communication

Husband Good “. . .we try to solve problems by
communicating.”

Wife Good “If both sides have a common
theme, then we will try to convert
the different opinions into one
opinion.”

Time Together

Husband Good “I think I may not have enough
time with my family.”

Wife Good Missﬂxlata

Role Orientation

Husband Moderate (ﬂexible) “I think the man and the woman
in the marriage. . .are becoming
more independent. They want to
support their family, but at the
same time, they want to support
themselves.”

Wife Moderate (ﬂexible) “. . .people are kind of
independent, even though they
are married.”

Family History of Distress

Husband Possible problem Missing data

Wife Possible problem “Being separated from my
parents makes me very sad.”

Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband Good “I think that your life is bigger
because you have more things to
consider” (when you have a
child).
Wife Possible problem “. . .the difference is that when

 

 

deciding what we will do
tomorrow or what we will do on
the weekend, we need to have
arrangements for her.”

 

Couple #2’s results on the MSl-R were not surprising, given the fact that Shuang

and her daughter had just joined Yuan in the United States two weeks prior to the

107

 

interview. Both of them scored primarily in the good range for all of the MSI-R

subscales, and this may be due to a honeymoon effect. They had been apart for four

years, and it was evident to the researcher that they were happy to be with one another

again. The only subscale that was problematic was Conﬂict over Childrearing. This may

have been because of their adjustment to being parents together. Since their daughter had

been in China with Shuang, Yuan had not been involved in parenting in several years,

and they were most likely trying to establish a co-parenting relationship now that they

were all together in the United States.

Table 4.9: Comparison of Couple #3 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Category Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Possible problem “I talk to her and tell her that I

Wife

Possible problem

love her.”
“When he’s upset, I let him calm
down.”

 

Problem-Solving Communication

 

 

Husband Good “Sometimes we just argue. . .we
just forget and move on.”
Wife Possible problem “. . .we also talk to each other if
it’s a big problem.”
Time Together
Husband Possible problem “I didn’t have much time to
accompany my wife.”
Wife Possible problem “. . .I do not mind being alone.”
Role Orientation
Husband Low (traditional) “1 know males need to be the
provider, and the females do
some hard work at home.”
Wife Low (traditional) “American women do not work.

They just use their husbands’
money.”

 

Family History of Distress

 

 

 

 

Husband Good “. . .I was away ﬁom my parents
for about 11 years before I came
here.”

Wife Possible problem Missingjﬁa
Conﬂict over Childrearing

Husband N/A N/A

Wife N/A N/A

 

108

 

Couple #3 fell into the possible problem range for the majority of the subscales.

This particular couple stood out to the researcher because of the clear gender role division

that existed between them. The researcher was generally surprised to ﬁnd the gender

ﬂexibility that existed among the majority of the couples, but for Shen and Jing, their

roles seemed to be sharply divided. Some of their verbal reports did not exactly match

their MSl-R scores. For example, Jing reported that she did not mind being alone while

her husband was in classes or working on his research. Her MSI-R Time Together

subscale, however, indicates that this was a possible problem for both her and her

husband.

Table 4.10: Comparison of Couple #4 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Category Verbal Report
Affective Communication

Husband Possible problem “We try our best to help each
other, to be very nice.”

Wife Possible problem “No particular form.”

Problem-Solving Communication

Husband Good “I think we try to ﬁnd one thing
we have in common.”

Wife Good Missing data

Time Together

Husband Good Missing data

Wife Good Missingﬁta
Role Orientation

Husband Moderate (ﬂexible) “Sometimes she support me.
Sometimes I support her.”

Wife Moderate (ﬂexible) “A lot of people are more
independent. . .they can support
themselves.”

Family History of Distress

Husband Good “I have very good memories
about my family, especially in
those days when my mother was
alive.”

Wife Good “. . .I talk to them on the phone or
talk to them on the intemet. . .we
can see each other.”

Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband N/A N/A
Wife N/A N/ A

 

 

 

109

 

Couple #4’s MSI-R scores indicate that they are relatively satisﬁed with their

marital relationship. This fact seemed to be apparent when the researcher conducted the

conjoint interview with them. They smiled, laughed, and joked with one another

frequently during the interview. The only area in which a possible problem was present

was Affective Communication. As stated above, however, the lower scores obtained on

this scale may be an indication of cultural differences.

Table 4.1]: Comparison of Couple #5 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Cateﬂy Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Possible problem Missing data
Wife Good “. . .sometimes, he buy me

something.”

 

Problem-Solving Communication

 

Husband Possible problem Missing data

Wife Good “I think most of the time we
really discuss the problem. But
most of the time we agree
together.”

Time Together

Husband Good “It (lack of time together) might
bring some problems, but not
often to my wife and me.”

Wife Possible problem “. . .sometimes when I get home

on Friday, I want to talk to him,
but he says, ‘I’m busy now.”’

 

Role Orientation
Husband

Wife

Low (traditional)

Moderate (ﬂexible)

“Sometimes she, because I need
to do research, she takes care of
the laundry and does the
shopping. I don’t do this.”

“. . .during the time I was
preparing for the tests, he cooked
every meal for 4 months.”

 

Family History of Distress

 

 

 

 

Husband Good “. . .my mom said, ‘You must call
here.’ So I will call them every
time.”

Wife Good She said she missed her family,
but she said, “I have experience
being away ﬁ'om my family.”

Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband N/A N/A
Wife N/A N/ A

 

110

 

Couple #5 was the one couple in which the husband, Chung, seemed to be

somewhat uncomfortable with the female researcher. As a result, it was somewhat

difﬁcult to compare his verbal reports with his MSI-R scores. The researcher was not

surprised, however, to ﬁnd that for this particular couple, Chung’s MSI-R scores were

lower than those of his wife, Lin Yao. This was the only couple in which the wife seemed

to have a dominant position. As a result, Chung’s low scores may be reﬂective of his

wish to have a more traditional Chinese wife.

Table 4.12: Comparison of Couple #6 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

Subscale MSI-R CategorL Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Good “Sometimes she has a problem,
and I just try to solve her
problem.”
Wife Good “I think I will tell him, say ‘I love

9”

@u’ or ‘I care about you.

 

Problem-Solving Communication

 

 

Husband Possible problem “If we cannot solve it, then
sometimes we solve it alone.”
Wife Good “Sometimes he decide.
Sometimes I do.”
Time Together
Husband Possible problem . .most of the time. . .I have
enough time for her.”
Wife Good “We have more time when we
don’t have classes.”
Role Orientation
Husband Moderate (ﬂexible) “. . .they have a traditional role to
follow.”
Wife Low (traditional) “1 think some wives have to do

like housewor .”

 

Family History of Distress

 

 

Husband Good “Sometimes I call her (his
mother) too much...”
Wife Problem Speaks to parents and sister once
a month
Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband N/A N/ A
Wife N/A N/ A

 

 

 

For most of the couples, the wives had a more negative view of their maniage

than did husbands. For Couple #6, however, the opposite was true. While Yu Ying’s

lll

 

MSI-R results indicate that she views the relationship as being primarily positive, Wen’s

scores indicate that he may see more possible problems in the relationship. It is also

interesting to note for this couple that Yu Ying had more traditional views regarding men

and women than did her husband. This was also somewhat unusual. Wen and Yu Ying

were one of three couples who were somewhat younger than the others, and this may

explain Wen’s more ﬂexible views of gender.

Table 4.13: Comparison of Couple #7 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Category Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Possible problem “She just knows I love her.”

Wife

Good

“Through everyday life. . .he’s not
romantic.”

 

Problem—Solving Communication

 

 

Husband Possible problem “I apologize to her. . .We make
decisions together because we
need each other’s advice.”

Wife Good “I agree.”
Time Together

Husband Good “We just spend evenings and
weekends together.”

Wife Good Missingdata

Role Orientation

Husband Moderate (ﬂexible) “In the past, women took care of
the home. Now, I think more men
cookf’

Wife High (non-traditional) “Wives don’t depend on their

husbands anymore, and they
contribute equally.”

 

Family History of Distress
Husband

Wife

Good

Possible problem

“I miss my family very much. . .I
call my parents every week. We
are very close.”

“I am very close to my parents. I
talk to them every week.”

 

 

Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband
Wife

 

N/ A
N/ A

 

N/A
N/A

 

Couple #7 was also one of the three couples who were somewhat younger than

the others. This may explain Chan Juan’s non-traditional view of gender and Chen’s

ﬂexible view. This is also the one couple in which the wife came to the United States

112

 

before her husband. Chan Juan scored higher for most of the MSI-R subscales than her

husband. This may be due to the fact that Chen was generally unhappy with his graduate

program and with being in the United States. Chan Juan expressed feeling fortunate that

her husband was willing to give up a program he enjoyed in China to be with her in the

United States.

Table 4.14: Comparison of Couple #8 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Category Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Problem “I do say that ‘I love you’ or ‘I
care about you.’”
Wife Possible problem Missing data
Problem-Solving C ommunication
Husband Possible problem . .before we often quarrel. . .now
we can sit down.”
Wife Problem “If there’s a problem, you need to

sit down...”

 

Time Together
Husband
Wife

Possible problem
Possible problem

Missing data
“We don’t have a lot of time to
spend together.”

 

Role Orientation
Husband

Wife

Low (traditional)

Moderate (ﬂexible)

Women take care of children and
the home and men earn money
“Generally, women are supposed
to cook all the food

 

Family History of Distress
Husband

Wife

Possible problem

Possible problem

“I have been far away from my
family for 10 years.”

“. . .the most supportive, from
brothers and sisters. . .if I have
any kind of problem, I can talk
with them.”

 

 

Conﬂict over Childrearin g
Husband
Wife

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/ A

 

Hsin and Fang Yin (Couple #8) were the third of the younger couples included in

the study. Although it was not apparent during the interview, their MSI-R scores indicate

that they have a somewhat unsatisfactory relationship. They did speak about how they

used to argue with one another but reported being better able to communicate now. The

113

 

researcher was struck by how driven both Hsin and Fang Yin were in their chosen ﬁeld.

It is also interesting to note that they are in the same graduate program, which could

create competition between them.

Table 4.15: Comparison of Couple #9 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Category Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Possible problem “I think my wife loves me
because she does a lot of home
jobs...”
Wife Possiblmoblem Missing data
Problem-Solving Communication
Husband Good “. . .before a decision is made, I
think we should both agree. We
cannot choose one if we
disagree.”
Wife Good “We negotiate, or we talk about
rt.”
Time Together
Husband Good “. . .I want to spend more time
with my family.”
Wife Possible problem She is sometimes angry when he

works at the lab until very late at
night.

 

Role Orientation
Husband

Wife

Low (traditional)

Low (traditional)

“...in China, the wife is for the
husband, and the husband must
make many rules for the

family. . .he should make more
money.”

“. . .the wife should take care of
the children and the home. .the
husband should take more
responsibility for the money and
the problems.”

 

Family History of Distress
Husband

Wife

Possible problem

Good

. .my parents and her parents
live in the same town. . .after my
graduation, I will give them
money.”

Missing data

 

 

Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband

Wife

 

Possible problem

Possible problem

 

“We are more focused on him.
We think our relationship is more
smooth.”

“. . .our relationship is more
strong with him.”

 

114

 

Couple #9 was one of three couples in which only the husband was a graduate
student. I in, like most of the other husbands, had come to the United States ﬁrst, and
Huan Yue and their son joined him later. It is interesting to note that, according to the
MSI-R results, J in did not see Time Together as a problem, but Huan Yue viewed it as a
possible problem. This may be because she is not a student and does not have other
things to occupy her time. Both J in and Huan Yue verbally reported that they preferred to
have a traditional marriage, and their MSI-R scores supported this claim. Their two-year-
old son had been in China being raised by Jin’s parents and had joined them in the United
States two weeks prior to the interview. As a result, it is not surprising that Conﬂict over
Childrearing was a possible problem for them as they adjusted to their new roles as
parents together.

During the interview process, Couple #10 struck the researcher as the most
dissatisﬁed couple who participated in the research. Their MSI-R results supported this
observation. For both Shing and Lei, almost every subscale score was in the possible
problem or problem area. Although Shing was not as open regarding their problems, Lei
verbally reported multiple problems that she has had with her husband, including a poor
relationship with his mother and his decision to leave their two children in China with his

mother.

115

Table 4.16: Comparison of Couple #10 Verbal Reports and MSI-R Scores

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscale MSI-R Category Verbal Report
Affective Communication
Husband Problem “Sometimes we buy a gift for
each other. Not very much.”
Wife Possible problem “I cook delicious food.”
Problem-Solving Communication
Husband Possible problem “Sometimes I will listen to her
opinion. . .most of the time, it is
not reasonable.”
Wife Problem “He makes all of them
(decisions).”
Time Together
Husband Possible problem Missing data
Wife Good Missing data
Role Orientation
Husband Moderate (ﬂexible) “She cooks and I wash the
dishes.”
Wife Low (traditional) “. . .I will do more of the
housework than you.”
Family History of Distress
Husband Possible problem His parents visited them for a 1.5
years in the US and just returned
to China
Wife Possible problem “I have not seen them (her

parents) in a long time.”

 

 

Conﬂict over Childrearing
Husband

Wife

 

Possible problem

Problem

 

“Most of the time it would
(change the marriage), but since I
don’t take the father role, I don’t
think so.”

“For most of Chinese, if they
don’t have kids and they are
angry with each other, maybe
they will just divorce, but if you
have kids, it will be much more
harder.”

 

Analysis of SL-ASIA Data

The SL-ASIA was given to participants to determine their acculturation level.

Scores on the SL-ASIA range from 1 to 5, with 1 representing someone who is not

acculturated to Western culture; 2.5 representing someone who is bicultural; and 5

representing someone who is acculturated to Western culture. Table 4.17 displays the

116

 

means and standard deviations of the SL-ASIA by gender and student status. The mean
for the total sample was 2.10.

Table 4.17: Means and SDs for SL-AISA by Gender and Student Status

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demographic Variable Mean SD
Gender
Male 2.15 .17
Female 2.07 .21
Student Status
Student 2.12 .15
Non-Student 2.02 .29
Total Sample 2.10 .19

 

Viewing the above table, there are several interesting items to discuss further.
First, it is interesting to note that male participants, on average, were more acculturated
than their female counterparts. This was to be expected, especially considering that most
of the men had been in the United States at least six months longer than their wives.
Second, as one might expect, those participants who were students were more
acculturated than those who were not. This is most likely due to the fact that students are
quickly immersed into Western culture through their interactions with peers and
professors, while non-students spend the majority of their time inside their apartments
with little to no contact with Western culture. The overall mean score on the SL-ASIA
was 2.10, indicating that the participants of this study were not acculturated to Western
culture. This was not surprising in light of the fact that most of the participants reported
that they were in the United States temporarily and planned to return to China upon

completion of their studies and a few years of work experience.

117

Analysis of 0Q 45.2 Data

The CO 45.2 was used in this study to provide a measure of individual
psychological functioning. The OQ 45.2 has three subscales, including Symptom Distress
(SD), Interpersonal Relationships (IR), and Social Role (SR). As stated previously, a total
score above 63 indicates that an individual is similar to a patient population (Lambert et
al., 1996). The cut-off score for SD is 36, the cut-off score for IR is 15, and the cut-off
score for SR is 12 (Lambert et al., 1996). In addition to these subscales, an index of
somatization was created by calculating the mean of seven questions that address
physical symptoms. Table 4.18 displays the means and standard deviations of each of the
subscales, the somatization index, and the total score by gender and student status.

Table 4.18: Means and Standard Deviations for 0Q 45.2 by
Gender and Student Status

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscale Mean Standard Deviation
M F S NS M F S NS
Total 43.60 52.50 47.04 55.50 9.73 9.92 12.36 8.58
SD 22.70 28.80 25.96 30.00 6.55 7.45 8.00 8.29
IR 10.00 11.20 10.17 11.50 7.45 3.08 4.02 2.38
SR 10.90 12.50 10.92 14.00 1.91 2.80 2.94 .82
Somatization 1 .00 1.26 1.16 1.43 .43 .45 .46 .26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SD = Symptom Distress; IR = Interpersonal Relationships; SR = Social Role; M = Male;
F = Female; S = Student; NS = Non-Student

Results on the OQ 45.2 indicate that female participants had a total score average

that was higher than male participants. Although the mean score for females does not

indicate a level of symptomatology that would classify them in the patient population, it

was not surprising that their scores were higher. As stated previously, most of the women

had been in the United States for a shorter period of time than their husbands, and not all

of them were students. The combination of these two factors may have inﬂuenced the

increased presence of symptoms. Also, as expected, non-students had a higher mean

118

 

score on the OQ 45.2 than did students. This is not surprising because non-student
participants reported feeling lonely and depressed. While none of the mean scores for the
somatization index can be categorized as problematic, it is again interesting to note that
females had a higher mean somatization score than males, and non-students had a higher

mean score than students.

119

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION
This chapter provides a discussion of the research ﬁndings and their implications.
First, theoretical implications of ecological and feminist theory will be addressed. More
speciﬁcally, the conceptual map introduced in the ﬁrst chapter will be discussed in light
of the ﬁndings, and a new conceptual map will be introduced. Second, a theoretical map
regarding adjustment in international student couples will be proposed. Third, clinical
implications of the research ﬁndings will be addressed. Fourth, suggestions for further
research will be proposed. Finally, the limitations of the study will be discussed.
Theoretical Implications: Ecological Theory
According to the original conceptual map, found in Chapter 1, the most inﬂuential
factors in the participants’ marital relationships were expected to be graduate school,
gender, and culture. Other sociocultural factors were also expected to be inﬂuential but
not to the degree of the preceding three factors. The natural and human-built
environments were expected to have little inﬂuence on the marital relationship. A new
conceptual map, presented in Figure 5.1, represents the results that emerged through
qualitative analysis. In the new conceptual map, the natural physical-biological
environment is still displayed as having little inﬂuence on the marital relationship. The
human built environment, however, was found to be more inﬂuential than originally
expected. As a result, it has a gray arrow on the new conceptual map. The new
conceptual map displays the social cultural environment with each of its subsystems
broken down to display the signiﬁcant ﬁndings. The individual level of the social cultural
environment was found to have little inﬂuence through the ﬁndings of this study. As a

result, its inﬂuence is indicated with a white arrow. Although originally expected to be

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121

one of the most inﬂuential factors, the exosystem, consisting of lack of time together due
to graduate school and relationships with professors and advisors, was found to be only
moderately inﬂuential. This seemed to be because of the participants’ acceptance that
their education was the ﬁrst priority while they were here in the United States. The
relationship between the marital relationship and the microsystem, mesosystem, and
macrosystem are shown with a black arrow, indicating that the factors in these three
system levels were the most inﬂuential on participants’ marital relationships. A
discussion regarding these factors is presented below.
Natural Environment

As expected, the natural environment had little inﬂuence on the participants’
marital relationships. Previous research on marital stability and satisfaction has not
addressed the inﬂuence of this environment, and the ﬁndings of this research do not
suggest that such investigations be conducted. Although participants noted differences in
the natural environments between their home country and their current residence,
connections to their marital relationships or to their own ability to adjust to the new
culture were not speciﬁed.

Social-Cultural Environment

As expected, factors in this environment were most inﬂuential in the lives of

participants and had the greatest effects on their marital relationships. Inﬂuential factors

were found at each level of the social—cultural environment.

122

Macrosystem: Language, Relationship Expectations, Western Inﬂuence, Gender, and
Communism.

The factors that were found to be particularly inﬂuential at this level of the social-
cultural environment were language, relationship expectations, Western cultural
inﬂuence, gender, and communism. Despite research on the inﬂuence of religion on
marital stability in the United States, it was discovered in this study that religion had little
inﬂuence in the lives of participants. Although Call and Heaton (1977) found that
attendance at religious services increased marital stability for American couples, no such
conclusions can be reached in this study. In fact, the majority of the participants in this
study reported having no religious beliefs, but it could be argued that their marriages are
more stable than American marriages, considering the disparity in divorce rates (50% in
America vs. 20% in China).

Language. Language was found to be very inﬂuential for individual participants,
and it may also have an indirect inﬂuence on the marital relationship. Participants
reported that the language barrier made it difﬁcult for them to communicate with non-
Chinese students as well as making it difﬁcult for them to complete their class
assignments. Because of the necessity for international students to write their papers and
assignments in English as opposed to their native language, it takes them much longer
than it would an American student. In addition, the participants of this study
communicated a desire to do well in their coursework, with many of them maintaining an
A average in their classes. This desire to do well in addition to having to complete
assignments in a different language increases the amount of time and effort that

international students put into their studies. For example, one participant described the

123

tedious nature of writing papers, stating that it was necessary for her to write line by line
and paragraph by paragraph. This increased amount of time spent on class assignments
may lead to less time spent with one’s spouse or family.

Relationship expectations. Relationship expectations were also inﬂuential
macrosystem factors in the lives of the participants. Despite increasing role ﬂexibility,
which will be discussed further below, it was still generally expected that wives would
follow their husbands and that husbands would have the overt power in family decision-
making. In addition to the husband-wife relationship, expectations for parent-child
relationships were also inﬂuential. Among the participants of this study, it was generally
accepted that upon marriage, the wives would become closer to their husbands’ families
than to their own. Although most of the wives seemed accepting of this arrangement,
there were a few who had difﬁculty in making this transition. There was also some
expectation that grandparents would be involved in the raising of their grandchildren. In
some of the participants’ families, this was carried out in a very direct way because the
grandparents had been or were currently the sole guardians and providers for the
grandchildren.

Western culture. Another inﬂuential macrosystem factor was the increasing
inﬂuence of Western culture. Although traditional Chinese culture and Confucianism
would say that women are more valuable if they are obedient and lack talent (Higgins et
al., 2002), all of the female participants in the current study had at least a bachelor’s
degree, and the majority of them also had graduate degrees. In addition, men and women
who were unmarried at the age of 30 were traditionally regarded as unwanted (Higgins et

al., 2002). Many of the participants in this study, however, were well into their thirties

124

and had only been married for a few years. As a result, it appears that higher educational
attainment for women is seen as desirable, and a later age at marriage has become more
accepted. As reported by Higgins et al. (2002), the participants veriﬁed that most Chinese
young people are now choosing their own spouses rather than participating in arranged
marriages. Despite the inﬂuence of Western culture, however, several participants
reported that they prefer the more traditional way of structuring relationships.

Gender. As expected, gender was found to be a primary organizing factor in the
marital relationships of the participants. In the United States, increased gender equality
has brought about both positive and negative consequences in marital relationships.
According to Amato et al. (2003), declines in marital quality have been associated with
increases in marital heterogamy, premarital cohabitation, wives’ extended hours of
employment, and wives’ job demands. This also seems to be somewhat true among
Chinese couples. The participants of this study made a direct link between women’s
increased independence and the increasing divorce rates in China. They also identiﬁed
positive consequences of increased gender equality, such as more freedom to pursue “the
happy life” if one was dissatisﬁed in their current situation. Amato et al. (2003) also
discovered increases in marital quality due to increased gender equity including increased
economic resources, decision-making equality, nontraditional attitudes toward gender,
and support for lifelong marriage. Just as American families have experienced role
conﬂict, Chiu et al. (1998) discovered that inter-role conﬂict was signiﬁcantly related to
work conﬂict and family conﬂict. The results of this study indicated that female Chinese

international students especially experience role conﬂict. For example, one female

125

participant questioned her adequacy as a wife because of the time she spent on her studies
and research.

Communism. An unexpected ﬁnding of the research was the inﬂuence of
communism on the marital relationships of the participants. As stated previously, the
participants identiﬁed communism as a liberating force for women. It was in 1949 that
the Chinese Communist Party came into power and instituted a new marriage law that
outlawed arranged marriages (Higgins et al., 2002). Another change identiﬁed by the
participants was that the Chinese Communist Party changed the traditional custom that
children belong to their fathers, giving mothers more equal rights to their children.
Exosystem: Time Together and Relationships with Professors/Advisors.

Time together. The issue of time together was directly inﬂuential in the
particpants’ marital relationships. Dyk (1987) identiﬁed two types of inter-role conﬂict
that may inﬂuence graduate students, time-based conﬂicts and strain-based conﬂicts.
Both of these seemed to be a factor in the quality of participants’ marital relationships.
Many of the participants expressed a desire to spend more time with their families,
believing that because of their roles as students and researchers, they were unable to
devote adequate time to their roles as husbands and wives or mothers and fathers. In
addition, during times of extra strain and stress, such as ﬁnals week or around
professional conferences, the participants reported more strain in their marital
relationships.

Pederson and Daniels (2001) discovered that particular stressors on graduate
student couples included relocation, competing interests, and ﬁnancial stress. All of the

participants in the current study also experienced these stressors. Some of these factors,

126

such as relocation and ﬁnancial stress, may be even more extreme for international
students. In terms of relocation, they have relocated to another country rather than
another city or another state. In terms of ﬁnancial stress, if only one spouse is a student,
the family must be able to survive on the stipend that the student receives from his or her
assistantship because non-student spouses are not permitted to work. Pederson and
Daniels (2001) also identiﬁed the delay of developmental milestones as signiﬁcant in the
lives of graduate student couples. Wang and Xiang speciﬁcally talked about this issue.
Xiang expressed some jealousy because her peers and classmates in China had already
secured good jobs, had children, and bought houses. Both she and Wang expressed some
doubt regarding their ability to catch up with their peers upon returning to China.

Sori et al. (1996) discovered that graduate school was particularly detrimental to
the marital relationship if the couple had traditional roles prior to graduate school, and the
wife was the graduate student. In the current study, all but one of the husbands were
graduate students. In the one couple in which the husband was not currently a student, he
had recently graduated from his Ph.D. program and was working while his wife ﬁnished
her master’s degree. In this particular couple, there did appear to be more marital distress
than in the other couples, but it did not seem to be due to the husband’s ﬁ'ustration in
fulﬁlling stereotypically feminine responsibilities. Rather, their distress seemed to be
more linked to his wife’s ﬁ'ustration that she was being expected to be successful in her
coursework, to fulﬁll her assistantship responsibilities, and to take responsibility for most
of the household tasks. At the time of the interview, the husband was working part-time

at a local automobile assembly plant.

127

Sori et al. (1996) also discovered that marital distress in graduate student couples
was linked to the non—student spouse being forced to delay his or her own personal goals.
This ﬁnding was strongly supported by the results of the current study. One of the
primary themes was that of the sacriﬁce of one spouse who gave up career or educational
opportunities in China in order to be with the other spouse who was studying in the
United States. While most of the spouses who made this type of sacriﬁce were wives, one
husband did drop out of a Ph.D. program in China to join his wife who was studying in
the United States.

Relationships with advisors/professors. The second exosystem factor that was
found to be inﬂuential was the students’ relationships with their advisors and professors.
While this factor did not directly inﬂuence participants’ marital relationships, it was a
signiﬁcant factor in the students’ ability to adjust and to be successful in their graduate
studies. Students who had good relationships with advisors and professors reported a
more positive experience of graduate school, while those who did not have good
relationships with their mentors reported more negative experiences. These relationships
may have an indirect inﬂuence on the marital relationship because problems with one’s
advisor or professors may lead to increased pressure and stress in graduate school which,
in turn, could lead to more distress in the marital relationship.

Mesosystem: Family, Friends, and the Presence of Children

While it was not predicted to be a primary factor in the participants’ marital

relationships, results have indicated that the mesosystem may be one of the more

inﬂuential levels of the sociocultural environment. Within the mesosystem, factors that

128

were found to be inﬂuential included relationships with family and friends and the
presence of children.

Family. Because of the collective nature of Chinese culture, family relationships
may be more inﬂuential for the participants of the current study than it would be for
American students. Bryant et al. (2001) found that among rural American families, the
quality of couples’ relationships with their in-laws predicted the stability, satisfaction,
and commitment of wives. This was also found to be true in the current study. Multiple
participants reported that one factor in good Chinese marriages is whether or not the
spouses are able to have good relationships with their in-laws. While more and more
Chinese couples are living in urban areas and are living in their own residences, it is still
common for them to live with the husband’s parents. In addition, because it is often the
son’s responsibility to take care of his parents as they age, Chinese couples are often
closer to the husband’s family than they are to the wife’s family. Most of the participants
in this study were accepting of this arrangement. At least one participant, however,
expressed great distress regarding her relationship with her husband’s family. She spoke
about her difﬁculty in considering them as her parents when she has her own parents. The
strained relationship between them was exacerbated by the fact that her mother-in-law
was raising her children in China.

Friends. Another signiﬁcant factor in the participants’ ability to adjust to life in
the United States and to make the necessary adaptations in their marital relationships was
their ability to make friends. In all but one of the participating couples, the husband had
come to the United States prior to his wife. As a result, he had often established

friendships before her arrival and was able to introduce her to people in his established

129

social circle. Lang and Carstensen (1994) commented on the importance of this
phenomenon, pointing out that spouses increase the size of one another’s social networks.
The presence of ﬁiends was vitally important to participants when they ﬁrst arrived in the
United States. They reported how the Chinese community would pull together to help the
new students by taking them shopping, giving them rides, and providing them with vital
information. In a qualitative study of 25 Japanese women whose husbands were working
in the United States, a similar phenomenon was discovered (Saint Amault, 2002). The
participants identiﬁed both informational support and functional support, such as
cooking, shopping, and providing transportation as important in their relationships with
one another (Saint Amault, 2002).

Friends may serve as an inﬂuential factor in the marital relationship because of
the outside support they provide to each spouse. Allgood et al. (1997) discovered that
discussing family problems with friends was positively correlated with marital
satisfaction and stability. Many of the participants spoke of discussing their concerns
with their Chinese friends which helped them to get through particularly stressful times.

Presence of children. The presence of children was another inﬂuential
mesosystem factor. Four of the couples who participated in this study had children.
Research on American couples has shown that marital satisfaction decreases upon the
birth of the ﬁrst child (Tucker & Aaron, 1993; Cowan & Pape-Cowan, 1988; Steingberg
& Silverberg, 1987; Troll, 1985). This, however, did not seem to be the case for the
couples in this study. Rather, all but one of the couples reported that having a child
increased their marital satisfaction and stability. The one couple who reported a decrease

in marital satisfaction since the birth of their children were in a unique situation because

I30

their children were being raised by the husband’s parents in China while he and his wife
were studying in the United States. As Higgins et al. (2002) pointed out, marriage in
Chinese culture has traditionally been seen as the pathway to self-worth and achievement,
and this may be primarily through giving birth to children.

Microsystem: Problem-Solving, Affection, Spousal Support, and Spousal Separation

The microsystem refers to those processes that take place between the spouses.
The results of this study indicate that inﬂuential microsystem factors include problem-
solving communication, the expression of affection, spousal support, and spousal
separation.

Problem-solving. Greeff and deBruyne (2000) discovered that collaborative
conﬂict management styles had the highest correlation with marital satisfaction, while
competitive conﬂict management styles had the highest correlation with marital
dissatisfaction. According to the results of the current study, this ﬁnding seems to be true
for Chinese couples as well. The majority of the participating couples reported that they
make an effort to reach a compromise when they are confronted with a problem or
decision. While a few couples did report that decisions are ultimately up to the husband,
it appeared that this was done in such a way that the wife was made to feel as though her
opinion was valuable. One couple, however, reported a more competitive style to conﬂict
management, and they also appeared to be the least satisﬁed with their marital
relationship.

Expression of affection. The participants in this study reported that small, daily
acts of kindness and helpfulness were the most important way in which they expressed

love and affection for one another. They seemed to take comfort in knowing that they did

131

not have to give elaborate gifts or be particularly romantic to prove their love for one
another. A stereotype of Asian cultures is that they are cold and unfeeling. This, however,
did not seem to be the case for these participants. One husband in particular talked
passionately about how much he missed his wife during their four-year separation.

Spousal support. Social support provided by one’s spouse has been found to
predict marital quality, especially for wives (McGonagle et al., 1992). The results of this
study veriﬁed previous ﬁndings. All of the students expressed how much they
appreciated their spouses’ support as they focused on their studies. For those couples in
which both spouses were students, this support came primarily in the form of role
ﬂexibility. For couples in which only the husband was a student, the most important type
of support came in the wife’s willingness to come to the United States so they could be
together. All of these men expressed appreciation to their wives for supporting their
individual goals. Brunstein et al. (1 996) studied the relationship between goal support and
marital quality, and they found that men’s marital quality was signiﬁcantly correlated
with individual goal support.

Spousal separation. One factor that was signiﬁcant for these couples but may not
be signiﬁcant for domestic graduate student couples was the separation of the spouses.
All of the couples who participated in this study had spent at least 6 months apart, and the
longest length of time spent separated from one another was 4 years. There seemed to be
two circumstances in which this occurred. The ﬁrst was when the husband was accepted
into graduate school in the United States ﬁrst, and the wife had to wait to join him after

she was able to get her visa. The second situation was when the wife was pregnant at the

132

time the husband ﬁrst came to the United States. The wife stayed in China to give birth to
her child and then joined her husband in the United States at a later date.
Individual: Personality and Health

Particular personality characteristics were not found to be directly linked to the
marital relationship through qualitative analysis. Most of the participants described
themselves as having positive personality characteristics. One of the common
characteristics identiﬁed by many of the participants was diligence and commitment to
working hard in their graduate program. Many of them also reported being driven to
succeed. These particular personality characteristics may be indirectly related to the
participants’ marital relationships. For example, graduate students who are more driven
and hard-working may spend more time on their studies and their research and less time
with their wives or families. In terms of their health, the majority of the participants
reported being physically healthy. In addition, the somatization index calculated from the
OQ 45.2 indicated that participants did not experience a signiﬁcant level of somatic
symptoms. Although these students were under a great deal of stress, they did not
experience a large number of physical symptoms, as suggested by Lim (2000).

Human-Built Environment

It was surprising to the researcher that this factor was so inﬂuential in the lives of
participants. No direct links between the human-built environment and their marital
relationships were identiﬁed, but indirect links may exist. It was discovered through
qualitative analysis that public transportation was an important factor in the participants’
ability to adjust to the new culture, especially for non-student spouses. As stated

previously, non-student spouses experienced a great deal of boredom because of their

133

inability to work or drive. This boredom and dissatisfaction could potentially contribute
to marital distress. No current research exists on this particular factor, so it would be
beneﬁcial to explore the inﬂuence of this factor in greater detail.

Theoretical Implications: Feminist Theory

Although the importance of feminist theory is implied through the prevalence of
the gender theme throughout the results of this study, it is necessary to more directly
discuss how these ﬁndings relate to feminist theory. As originally expected, gender was
one of the primary organizing concepts for the results of this study. More speciﬁcally, the
importance of role ﬂexibility was emphasized by the participants. Despite the emphasis
on ﬂexibility in gender roles, however, it was clear that the women who participated in
this study still occupied a subordinate position in their society and in their families
(Goodrich et al., 1988). This was clear through the wives’ reports of their sacriﬁcing
successful careers in China to be with their husbands in America, where they took on
more traditional roles. Despite reports of compromise between the couples, the husbands
in the families held more decision-making authority, creating a power differential
between the spouses (Osmond & Thorne, 1993).

The subordination of women in Chinese society does seem to be lessening,
however. All of the women reported their desire to work, as well as the necessity to work
outside of the home. None of them expressed a desire or an expectation that they should
be housewives. Despite more traditional expectations that women be obedient and lack
talent (Higgins et al., 2002), the majority of the women in this study had advanced
degrees or were currently working on advanced degrees. In addition, the researcher

expected that the wives would be suppressed in conjoint interviews but was surprised to

134

ﬁnd that they were able to hold their own in the presence of their husbands. A surprising
source of female liberation, according to the participants, was the Chinese Communist
Party. Increased gender equality was attributed to the inﬂuence of China’s current
political system.

Emergent Theoretical Map

The purpose of grounded theory methodology, which guided this study, is to
develop substantive theory. This is done through a three-step coding process which has
previously been discussed in detail. The third step of this process is selective coding, the
purpose of which is to identify one central theme that encompasses the entirety of the
research ﬁndings. The central theme that emerged from this research was that of the
adjustment of the international student couple.

The original purpose of the study was to discover how ecological factors such as
those described above are inﬂuential in the lives of international graduate students. As the
researcher and the participants had dialogue in the interviews, the theme of adjustment
emerged repeatedly in each interview. The participants were not directly asked to
describe how they had gone about adjusting to the new culture, but it was a theme that
was important to them. Throughout the interviews, the participants addressed how each
of the ecological factors discussed above inﬂuenced their ability to adjust as a couple to
their new surroundings. For these couples, their primary marital concern surrounded how
they, as a couple, went about adjusting to the new culture in which they lived. While
living in a culture that was different from their own, the focus of their relationships

became adjustment to their new surroundings. If the same couples participated in a

135

 

similar study while still living in China, this theme may not have been their central focus.
Figure 5.2 is a pictorial rendering of this emergent theoretical model of adjustment.

This model was developed with the assistance of the six C’s coding family
outlined by Glaser (1978). In Glaser’s coding family, the six C’s consist of context,
conditions, causes, consequences, covariances, and contingencies. The C’s that were
discovered in this analysis were context, conditions, causes, consequences, and
contingencies. The links between each of these categories and the central theme,
adjustment of the international student couple, are discussed below.

Context

The context in which this model is relevant is the Western cultural environment.
This theoretical model is proposed only for this context. The adjustment of these couples
would not necessarily be inﬂuenced by the same factors if they were in another cultural
environment.

Conditions

Glaser (1978) deﬁnes conditions as qualiﬁers. There were three conditions that
were found to be inﬂuential on the adjustment of the international couple in this study.
The ﬁrst was the presence of children. While having or not having children did not
directly affect whether or not the couple was able to adjust, the presence of children,
especially when the wife was not a student, seemed to assist the couple in achieving
better adjustment. All of the participants who had children reported that even if they had
been previously separated from their children, they were much happier when their
children joined them in the United States. For the one couple whose children did not live

with them at the time of the study, the absence of their children brought about signiﬁcant

136

 

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distress both in their marital relationship and their contentment with life in the United
States.

The second inﬂuential condition was the student status of the spouses. Previous
research has found that graduate student couples are better adjusted if only the husband is
a student or if both spouses are students (Sori et al., 1996). In the current study, however,
it was found that couples in which both spouses were students seemed to be better
adjusted than those in which only the husband was a student. When both spouses were
students, there was more role ﬂexibility and each spouse had their own interests to
pursue. On the other hand, when only the husband was a student, he may have been well-
adjusted to the new culture, but as a couple there was more difficulty in managing the
stressors of being in the new environment. This was primarily because of the boredom of
the non-student spouse. As mentioned previously, non-student spouses have F2 visa
status which does not allow them to work. In addition, non-student spouses are oﬁen not
comfortable with their skills in speaking English. As a result of these two factors, they
often feel isolated.

The third condition that seemed to be inﬂuential in the participants’ ability to
adjust was their relationships with their extended family members. This factor seemed to
be more inﬂuential for the men. Men in Chinese culture are expected to care for their
parents as they age. Flexible relationships in the family seemed to be important in helping
the students to adjust to life in the United States. Many of the male participants spoke of
how their siblings were taking on more responsibility while they were away. Upon their
return to China, they talked about resuming their responsibilities as sons. There was one

couple in which the relationship between the wife and the mother-in-law was particularly

138

strained, and this had a detrimental effect on the wife’s contentment with her marriage
and with her life in general.
Causes

Glaser (1978) deﬁnes causes as “sources, reasons, explanations, accountings or
anticipated consequences” (p. 74). Although causal factors are identiﬁed in this
theoretical model, it is not necessarily assumed that this model is entirely linear. There
were two causes that seemed to be directly linked to the couples’ ability to adjust to life
in the Western cultural context.

The ﬁrst causal factor to consider is that of social support. Social support in this
model is a generic term that refers to support received ﬁ‘om one’s spouse, family, friends,
church community, university, or any other group or individual that is perceived as being
supportive. The results of this study revealed that social support is necessary in order for
international student couples to be able to adjust to their new environment. Spouses
provided support to one another by being ﬂexible in their gender roles and by providing a
listening ear. Friends provided support by providing the couple with important
information and transportation when they ﬁrst arrived in the United States. As mentioned
above, other family members provided the couple with support by taking care of the
parents who still lived in China. Churches were often cited as supportive entities because
many of the churches provided English classes as well as programs speciﬁcally geared to
the wives and children of international students. The university was most often cited for
providing the necessary ﬁnancial support enabling students to provide for their families.

The second causal factor that seemed to play a key role in the couples’ abilities to

adjust was that of role ﬂexibility. Despite stereotypical expectations that Asian families

139

are highly traditional regarding gender roles, the researcher was surprised to ﬁnd how
central ﬂexible roles were to their ability to adjust and to be successful. Although one
might expect that this ﬂexibility in gender roles was due to Western cultural inﬂuence,
many of the couples reported being ﬂexible in this way while they were still in China.
For example, several of the wives had worked to support their husbands while they were
in graduate school in China. After coming to the United States, participants discussed the
importance of ﬂexibility in sharing household and Childrearing responsibilities. This
ﬂexibility was especially important in couples in which both spouses were graduate
students. During times of high stress for one spouse (e. g., preparing for comprehensive
exams), the other spouse would pick up more of the household or childcare
responsibilities. It became clear to the researcher that without this role ﬂexibility,
participants’ ability to adjust to the new culture and to be successful in graduate school
would have been severely impaired.
Consequences

If the couple was able to adjust as a result of their social support and role
ﬂexibility, they were able to achieve contentment, to be successful in graduate school,
and to have marital stability in the United States. Of course, as stated above, these
consequences were also inﬂuenced by favorable conditions which included the presence
of children when only one spouse was a student, both spouses being students, and good
relationships with other family members. The couples who had these favorable conditions
along with social support from one another, from friends, and from other sources in the
community as well as ﬂexibility in their gender roles were able to adjust successfully to

life in the United States.

140

Contingencies

Other contingencies that may have contributed to the couples’ ability to adjust
included individual personality characteristics as well as health. Although direct links
were not identiﬁed, it can be speculated that if individual spouses had personality
impairments or severe mental or physical health problems, these factors would inﬂuence
the couple’s ability to adjust to life in another culture.

Clinical Implications

The results of this study provide some valuable implications for clinicians who
work with Chinese internationals as well as any group of international residents of the
United States. The ﬁrst, and most obvious, implication is the necessity of taking a
systemic point of view when working with individuals who are experiencing mental or
relational distress in relation to living in a culture that is different from their own. Often
international students who do seek therapeutic services do so because they are
experiencing difﬁculty in their coursework. To concentrate solely on study and time
management skills, however, would be an error on the part of the clinician. Even for
therapists who already take a systemic perspective, the tendency would be to focus on
factors from the social cultural environment without considering the natural and human
built environments. Although the natural environment was not found to be particularly
inﬂuential, factors in the human built environment, such as transportation, were. As a
result, the clinician working with these types of clients may also have to take on the role
of case manager or refer clients to an appropriate source for help in these areas. The
results of this study have shown that factors on multiple systems levels contribute to the

well-being of international students.

14]

The second clinical implication is the importance of gender related themes, such
as role, power, and domination in working with this population. The clinician who is
sensitive to these often subtle intricacies of relationships will be better able to assist
clients. The results of this study have shown that role ﬂexibility is a necessity in order for
Chinese couples to successfully adjust to their lives in the United States. As a result,
clinicians working with Chinese couples, while communicating respect for their
traditional values, should encourage them to be more ﬂexible in their gender role
responsibilities.

Another implication is found in the emergent theoretical model, displayed in
Figure 5.2. lntemational students who seek therapeutic help will often be struggling to
adjust to their new culture. The model that has emerged as a result of this study can
provide clinicians with a map for assisting these students in their struggle to adjust.
Although the clinician may not be able to intervene in whether or not the couple has
children or whether or not both of them are students, s/he may be able to assist the client
in developing better relationships with his or her family of origin. In addition, the
clinician can help these clients to identify and cultivate sources of social support and to
be more ﬂexible in their roles, both of which are more direct inﬂuences on their ability to
adjust.

Implications for University Communities

A common statement made by the participants of this study was that the
orientation offered by their university upon their arrival in the United States was not
adequate preparation for what they would be facing in their struggle to adjust to life in a

new culture. The theory of adjustment that emerged from the results of this study may

I42

serve as a helpful tool for university ofﬁces speciﬁcally tailored to meet the needs of
international students. lntemational student ofﬁces could use the proposed theoretical
model to plan their orientations.

Another way in which the results of this study could help universities better serve
international students is through their emphasis on the students’ families. For couples in
which one spouse is not a student, adjustment is more difﬁcult because of the lack of
resources and activities provided for students’ families. Based on the results of this study,
it is important to provide social support to students’ families as well as students. Several
non-student participants talked about the difﬁculty they encountered in getting support
from the international student ofﬁce because they themselves were not students. Most of
those who were non-students received social support from surrounding churches or
community organizations, and it would be beneﬁcial for university communities to
partner with these groups to assist students and their families in their struggle to adjust.

The importance of multiple ecological subsystems in the participants’ ability to
adjust was veriﬁed through the results of this study. While international student ofﬁces at
universities often form liaisons with university counseling centers, they may be unaware
of on-campus services that are available to assist students and their families. For
example, at universities that have graduate programs in marriage and family therapy,
student services ofﬁces are often unaware that low-cost clinics exist on their campuses to
speciﬁcally serve couples and families. This particular group of clinicians may be more
suitable to assist international students and their families because of their training in
family systems theory. While university counseling centers are often operated by

counseling psychology departments, which often take an individual approach to

143

problems, marriage and family therapists are trained to intervene at multiple levels of the
system in which a student, couple, or family is embedded. It would be beneﬁcial for
university departments and ofﬁces that serve international students to provide a complete
referral network for students that includes speciﬁc family-related services that are
available on their campuses.

Limitations of Study

As with any study, this research had limitations, some that cannot be controlled
and some that are inherent to the methodology. First, the participants in this study were
self-selected. Those who participated in this study did so because they chose to
participate. There may have been inherent differences between the students who chose to
participate in such a study and those who did not. In addition, although participants were
recruited from Japan, Korea, and China, all of the students who chose to participate were
from China. Although it was never assumed that these three cultures were the same, there
may have been differences between these cultures that were not taken into account when
designing the study.

The second limitation of the study had to do with issues of language. Perhaps one
of the differences mentioned above Chinese, Japanese, and Korean students was related
to comfort in speaking about such topics in English. It may be that Chinese students are
more comfortable than Japanese or Korean students conversing in English with outsiders.
In addition, more Chinese women may have been students, and therefore, their English
may have been better than the wives of Japanese or Korean students. As mentioned
previously, all participants had to be able to participate in the interview in English, and

this may have excluded more Japanese and Korean couples. Conducting the interviews in

144

participants’ native language and using a translator may have allowed a greater diversity
of participants. As previously mentioned, however, having a more homogenous sample
may have been beneﬁcial as well.

Another limitation of this study, and of all qualitative research, is the lack of
generalization that can be made to the larger population. Despite this limitation, however,
it is important to remember that this is a qualitative study, the goal of which is to gain a
rich, deep understanding of the experiences of a few people rather than generalization to
a larger population. Although large quantitative studies, if conducted appropriately,
provide the researcher with the ability to generalize ﬁndings to the larger population, they
lack the richness afforded by qualitative methodologies. In addition, qualitative
methodologies are particularly appropriate when a research topic, such as the one in this
study, has not been previously studied.

Fourth, it was assumed that the participants in this study were honest and
forthcoming about their marriages. While the MSI-R contains a subscale to control for
social desirability, there was no way in which the researcher could absolutely verify the
participants’ verbal reports regarding their marriages. In selecting participants, the
researcher had to rely on their claims of identiﬁcation. Because of privacy standards, the
researcher was not able to verify that the students were actually East Asian international
graduate students.

The issue of how to go about appropriately triangulating the data is an evolving
concept in the ﬁeld of qualitative research. This ambiguity regarding triangulation may
have been a limitation of the study. In this study, the qualitative data provided the

primary leg of triangulation, while the quantitative data provided descriptive

I45

triangulation, and the literature provided another leg of the triangle. Although it is outside
the scope of this dissertation, in future research regarding this topic, it would be
beneﬁcial to further triangulate the quantitative data with the theoretical map that
emerged from the qualitative data by conducting correlations and Chi-squares to ﬁrrther
validate the model.

Finally, as in all research, researcher bias was a limitation. Because the researcher
is the instrument in qualitative research, however, this limitation was especially relevant.
In order to counteract the inherent bias held by the researcher, these biases were made
clear throughout the research process. Researcher reﬂexivity is an important aspect of
qualitative research, as the researcher must identify how her biases may impact data
collection and analysis. These particular biases were discussed previously in Chapter 3.

Suggestions for Further Research

There are several ways in which the ﬁndings of this research may serve as a
springboard for future research regarding international student families. First, because of
the language issues discussed in the limitations section, it would be beneﬁcial to conduct
this research in the participants’ native language and to use a translator. This would
enable more international students’ spouses to participate in addition to allowing for more
of a range in acculturation among participants. Second, in order to further develop the
theoretical model that emerged from qualitative analysis of this data, it will be necessary
to conduct more qualitative inquiries with students of other nationalities. It would be
most beneﬁcial to begin with other Asian groups and to perhaps focus recruitment efforts

more speciﬁcally on international student families from Japan and Korea. Third,

146

quantitative research using multivariate methods could be conducted to investigate the
validity of the proposed theoretical model.

Fourth, based on participants’ reports that graduate school is a stressful time for them,
just as it has been found to be for domestic students, it may be helpful to conduct research
on Asian couples’ use or lack of use of available clinical services. Despite the
researcher’s concern that participants would be reluctant to share their lives with her, she
was surprised to ﬁnd that they were very open in talking about their marital relationships.
As a result, it may not be that these Chinese couples would not like to talk with someone
about their struggles, but it may need to be framed as something other than therapy. In
addition, international students may not be aware of the marital and family clinical
services that are available to them on campuses. For example, in talking with employees
in the international ofﬁces of several universities, there are often counselors that work
with international students at university counseling centers. These same international
ofﬁce employees, however, were unaware that marital and family services were even
available on their campuses. The international ofﬁce employees typically serve as the
ﬁrst contact for international students who are seeking support. As a result, it would be
beneﬁcial for university marriage and family clinics to develop relationships with these
ofﬁces.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the results of this study veriﬁed the importance of multiple
ecological subsystems in the live of Chinese international graduate students. Based on the
factors identiﬁed by participants as most important to their ability to adjust to life in a

new culture, a theoretical model of adjustment was proposed. It is hoped that the results

147

of this study will assist clinicians and universities to better serve the international student

population.

148

APPENDICES

149

APPENDIX A: INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Subject Consent to Participate in a Study on Ecological Factors Inﬂuencing the Marital
Relationship of East Asian lntemational Graduate Students

Michigan State University

You have been asked to participate in a research study conducted by me, Jaime Goff, a
graduate student in the Department of Family and Child Ecology of Michigan State
University (MSU). You were selected as a possible participant in this study because you
are a married international graduate student from China, Japan, or Korea. The purpose of
this study is to explore factors inﬂuencing your marital relationship.

If you volunteer to participate in this research study, I would ask you to agree to
participate in both a couple and individual face-to-face interviews, lasting approximately
90—120 minutes for both interviews. The interviews will be conducted at a location that is
convenient for you. The interviews will include questions about your maniage and your
experiences in graduate school. The interviews will be audio-recorded. You will also be
asked to complete four additional questionnaires: a demographic information
questionnaire, the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised, the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-
Identity Acculturation Scale, and the Outcome Questionnaire 45.

No known physical, emotional, social, legal, or other risk is expected from participating
in this research. The interview is not expected to directly or indirectly cause physical or
emotional harm. Your decision to take part in the study is voluntary, and you are under
no obligation to answer any question that makes you uncomfortable. You are free to
choose not to take part in the study or to interrupt or terminate participation in the
interview at any time. Your decision whether or not to participate will in no way affect
your relationship with Michigan State University. There are no direct beneﬁts from your
participation in the research, although you may ﬁnd that participating provides a useful
opportunity to explore and share your thoughts and experiences about your life.

Any information that is obtained in connection with this study that can be identiﬁed with
you will remain conﬁdential to the maximum extent allowable by law. Everything I learn
about you in this study will be conﬁdential. Once the audio-tape has been transcribed, all
tapes will be destroyed and the transcripts will be coded and kept under lock and key, as
will consent forms. If any portions of this study are published, you will not be identiﬁed
in any way.

If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact me at
(859) 263-5146 or jdgoff2@uky.edu. You may also contact Dr. Marsha Carolan at (517)
432-3327.

You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without
penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims or rights because of your participation in
this research study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject,

150

contact Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research
Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS), Michigan State University, at (517) 355-2180,
ucrihs@msu.edu. or write him at UCRIHS, 202 Olds Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI
48824. I will give you a signed copy of this form to keep. Your signature indicates that
you have decided to take part in this study and that you have read the above information.

 

 

Signature of Participant Date/Time

 

 

Signature of Researcher Date/Time

151

APPENDIX B: ORIGINAL INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
1. Signing of Consent Form and Completing Demographic Information

When the researcher arrives at the participants’ home or the participant arrives at
the clinic, the researcher will provide them with a clipboard containing the
consent form and a demographic information questionnaire.

Before we begin our discussion, I have some paperwork that I would like
for you to ﬁll out. The ﬁrst paper is a consent form. This form describes
the study that I am conducting and tells you about your rights as a research
participant. It is very important that you read the entire consent form
before signing it. I want you to be informed about what I am doing here.
After you have read the consent form, if you decide that you would like to
participate in the study, please sign and date the form. If you decide that
you do not want to participate, please inform me, and we will not continue
with the interview. The second page is a demographic questionnaire. The
purpose of this form is to provide me with some basic information about
you. If you have any questions about either of these forms, please feel free
to ask.

The conjoint interview will be conducted ﬁrst.

Il. Introduction
I want to start by thanking you for agreeing to participate in this interview.
I have asked you to participate because you are experts on your culture. I
am especially interested in hearing your story about your marital
relationship. I want to learn from you so that I can help others understand
your experiences.

I will be asking you some questions about your marriage and about other
relationships in your life. Your participation in this interview is totally
voluntary. You are not obligated to answer any questions. If you become
distressed by the interview, you are permitted to leave or to ask me to
leave at any time. Before we begin with the interview, I want to make sure
that you have read and understand the consent form. Do you have any
questions about what you read on the consent form or about the research?

Before we move on, I want to give you an overview of what we will be
talking about today. First, we will introduce ourselves to one another.
Next, I will ask you some questions about your maniage. Finally, I will
ask you to ﬁll out three more forms after we have ﬁnished talking.

152

III. Interview Questions
1. I’d like to start by asking you some questions about the natural environment in
which you live. When I say natural environment, I am talking about the weather,
the foliage, the animal life, and anything else that exists in nature.
a. What differences have you noticed between the natural environment at
home and the natural environment in the US?
b. How has the natural environment in the US changed the way in which the
two of you interact with one another?
c. Are there things you used to do together at home that you are unable to do
together here because of the natural environment? If so, what are they, and
why has that changed?

2. Now, I’d like to ask you some questions about marriage in your culture and your
marriage in particular.
a. Macrosystem
1. What does a marriage look like in your culture?
2. What are some of the values in your culture regarding marriage?
3. Is there such a thing as “good” and “bad” marriages in your
culture? If so, what does a “good” marriage look like? What does
a “bad” marriage look like?
b. Microsystem
Tell me about your relationship with one another.
How do the two of you solve problems?
How do the two of you make decisions?
How do the two of you communicate with one another?
How do the two of you show affection to one another?
For the graduate student: How does your spouse support you in
your role as a graduate student?
7. What is the role that each of you plays in the marriage?

9999?)?"

3. Now, I’d like to ask you about the human-built enviromnent that you live in.
When I say human built environment, I mean the buildings, roads, neighborhoods
that have been built by humans.

a. Describe the neighborhood in which you live.
b. Describe the home in which you and your family live.

After the conjoint interview has been concluded the researcher will interview the
wife and the husband separately for the following questions.

4. I’d like to ask you some questions about your own experience living here in the
United States while one/both of you is/are in graduate school. First, I’d like to ask
you some questions about the social-cultural environment in which you live.
When I say social-cultural environment, I am talking about your cultural values
and beliefs, your ﬁiends, your neighborhood, and your family.

a. Macrosystem
1. How has your cultural background helped you in the US?

153

b.

C.

d.

2. How has your cultural background hindered you in the US?

3. What are some of the values of your culture regarding the roles
of men and women in marriage? Have these values changed
since coming to the US? If so, how?

4. How has one/both spouses being in graduate school changed the
gender roles in your marriage?

Exosystem

1. For spouses who are employed: Tell me about your job.

2. Would you be working if your spouse were not in graduate
school? What would you do instead?

3. How has your job affected your relationship with your spouse?

Mesosystem

1. Tell me about your extended family. Did any of your extended
family members accompany you to the US? If so, what are your
living arrangements? Describe your relationship with your
extended family when you were at home. Describe your
relationship with your extended family now that you are in the
US.

2. Tell me about the ﬁiends you have made here in the US. How
has having friends helped you and your spouse adjust to being in
the US? How do your friends provide you with support?

3. Tell me about the neighborhood or community in which you live.
Describe your relationships with your neighbors.

4. If you have children, how has your marital relationship changed
since your children were born?

Individual
1. Describe your personality. What characteristics describe who
you are?

2. Tell me about your health. Are you currently experiencing any
health problems? If so, what are they?

5. I’d like to ask you some questions about you/your spouse being in graduate

school.
a.

b.

Student: Describe your overall experience of graduate school.

Spouse: Describe your overall experience of your spouse being in graduate
school.

How has the marital relationship changed since one/both spouses started
graduate school?

What has been the economic impact of one/both spouses being in graduate
school?

What is particularly stressful about one/both spouses being in graduate
school?

Student: What support do you receive from the university? Your
department? Your advisor?

What types of support do you ﬁnd most helpful while you/your spouse are
in graduate school?

154

IV. Completion of Measures

After the interviews are completed, participants will be asked to complete the RDAS, the
OQ-45, and the SL-ASIA. The researcher will provide participants with directions
regarding each instrument. The participants will be left with a self-addressed stamped
envelope in which the measures can be returned to her.

V. Wrap-Up

That is all I have for you to do today. Now, I’d like to give you a chance to ask any
questions you might have for me... I’d also like to give you a chance to add anything that
you might think is important to our discussion or to clarify any of your earlier
statements. . .Thank you for participating in this study. If you have any questions that you
did not want to ask here, my phone number and email address is on the consent form so
that you can contact me. Thank you again for your participation. Your insight was
invaluable to me, and I appreciate your expertise in helping me to understand your
culture and your experiences better.

155

 

APPENDIX C: DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE
Please complete the following demographic questionnaire.

Name: Age:

 

 

Students only complete the next three questions.
Education: At what level are you in graduate school?
Master’s Ph.D.

Field of Study:

 

How many credits are you currently taking?
1-3 credits
4-7 credits
8-11 credits
12-15 credits

Employment: Are you currently working?
Unemployed; not looking for work
Unemployed; looking for work
Employed part-time
Employed full-time
Other (please specify)

Leisure: What do you do for fun when not taking class, studying, or working?

 

 

 

What has been the biggest change for you in coming to the US for college and/or
graduate school?

 

 

 

What has been the biggest challenge for your marriage with one or both spouses in
graduate school?

 

 

 

156

Household Composition: List below all persons who live in your household and indicate
their relationship to you.

Name Age Sex Relationship to You

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9°39?:BP‘!°?‘

 

Marital Status: Check all of the following that are true.

Married and living together

Not married but living together (consensual union)
Separated (married, but not living together)
Divorced

Widowed

Never married

Household Income: What was your household’s income level last year?

$15,000 or less

$15,001 - $35,000
$35,001 - $50,000
$50,001 - $75,000
$75,001 or above

Ethnicity: What is your country of origin?

 

Please write down any other information you think may be important for the researcher to
know.

 

 

 

 

157

APPENDIX D: MARITAL SATISFACTION INVENTORY-REVISED QUESTIONS

.‘OWNP‘P'PPN

14.

15.
16.

17.

LISTED BY SUBSCALE
Affective Communication — Full Text of Items

My partner almost always responds with understanding to my mood at a given
moment.

It is sometimes easier to conﬁde in a ﬁiend than in my partner.

There is a great deal of love and affection expressed in our relationship.

My partner doesn’t take me seriously enough sometimes.

Whenever I’m feeling sad, my partner makes me feel loved and happy again.
Sometimes I feel as though my partner doesn’t really need me.

Sometimes my partner just can’t understand the way I feel.

Just when I need it the most, my partner makes me feel important.

My partner does many different things to show me that he or she loves me.

. I feel free to express openly strong feelings of sadness to my partner.
11.
12.
13.

Sometimes I wonder just how much my partner really does love me.
Whenever he or she is feeling down, my partner comes to me for support.
My partner keeps most of his or her feelings inside.

Problem Solving Communication — Full Text of Items

When my partner and I have differences of opinion, we sit down and discuss
them.

There are some things my partner and I just can’t talk about.

During an argument with my partner, each of us airs our feelings completely.
Even when angry with me, my partner is able to appreciate my viewpoints.
A lot of our arguments seem to end in depressing stalemates.

My partner and I need to improve the way we settle our differences.

My partner is so touchy on some subjects that I can’t even mention them.
When we argue, my partner and I often seem to go over and over the same old
things.

My partner’s feelings are too easily hurt.

. Minor disagreements with my partner often end up in big arguments.

. When arguing, we manage quite well to restrict our focus to the important issues.
. My partner has no difﬁculty accepting criticism.

. My partner sometimes seems intent upon changing some aspect of my

personality.

My partner and I seem able to go for days sometimes without settling our
differences.

Our arguments frequently end up with one of us feeling hurt or crying.

When we disagree, my partner helps us to ﬁnd alternatives acceptable to both of
us.

My partner and I are often unable to disagree with one another without losing our
tempers.

158

18. My partner often fails to understand my point of view on things.
19. My partner often complains that I don’t understand him or her.

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Aggression — Full Text of Items

My partner has slapped me.

I have never worried that my partner might become angry enough to hurt me.
My partner has slammed things around or thrown things in anger.

I have worried about my partner losing control of his or her anger.

My partner has never thrown things at me in anger.

My partner sometimes screams or yells at me when he or she is angry.

My partner has never pushed me or grabbed me in anger.

My partner has left bruises or welts on my body.

My partner has never threatened to hurt me.

. My partner has never injured me physically.

Time Together — Full Text of Items

I am fairly satisﬁed with the way my partner and I spend our available free time.
I wish my partner shared a few more of my interests.

My partner likes to share his or her leisure time with me.

My partner and I spend a good deal of time together in different kinds of play and
recreation.

My partner and I don’t have much in common to talk about.

It seems that we used to have more fun than we do now.

Our daily life is full of interesting things to do together.

My partner doesn’t take enough time to do some of the things I’d like to do.

I spend at least one hour each day in an activity with my partner.

. Our recreational and leisure activities appear to be meeting both our needs quite

well.
Disagreement about Finances —— Full Text of Items

I trust my partner with our money completely.

My partner and I decide together the manner in which our income is to be spent.
Our relationship has never been in difﬁculty because of ﬁnancial concerns.

Our ﬁnancial future seems quite secure.

It is often hard for us to discuss our ﬁnances without getting upset with each
other.

My partner is forever checking up on how I spend our money.

Trying to work out a budget causes more trouble with my partner than it is worth.
My partner is a very good manager of ﬁnances.

My partner and I rarely argue about money.

10.] feel as though we live beyond our ﬁnancial means.
1 1. My partner buys too many things without consulting me ﬁrst.

159

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Sexual Dissatisfaction - Full Text of Items

My partner seems to enjoy sex as much as I do.

I would prefer to have sexual relations more frequently than we do now.

I am sometimes unhappy with our sexual relationship.

I am somewhat dissatisﬁed with how we discuss better ways of pleasing each
other sexually.

One thing my partner and I don’t fully discuss is our sexual relationship.

My partner sometimes shows too little enthusiasm for sex.

My partner has too little regard for my sexual satisfaction.

My partner and I nearly always agree on how ﬁequently to have sexual relations.
I have never seriously considered having an affair.

. My partner and I rarely have sexual relations.
. I would like my partner to express a little more tenderness during intercourse.
. There are some things I would like us to do, sexually, that my partner doesn’t

seem to enjoy.

. Our sexual relationship is entirely satisfactory.

Role Orientation — Full Text of Items

Some equality in marriage is a good thing but, by and large, the man ought to
have the main say-so in family matters.

There should be more daycare centers and nursery schools so that more mothers
of young children could work.

Such things as laundry, cleaning, and child care are primarily a woman’s
responsibility.

If a child gets sick, and if both parents work, the father should be just as willing as
the mother to stay home from work and take care of the child.

Earning the family income is primarily the responsibility of the man.

The man should be the head of the family.

A woman should take her husband’s last name after marriage.

The most important thing for a woman is to be a good wife and mother.

Where a family lives should depend mostly on the man’s job.

. In a relationship, the woman’s career is of equal importance to the man’s.
. In a relationship, a major role of a woman should be that of housekeeper.
. If a mother of young children works, it should be only while the family needs the

money.
Family History of Distress — Full Text of Items

My childhood was probably happier than most.

I was very anxious as a young person to get away from my family.

My parents’ marriage was happier than most.

All the marriages on my side of the family appear to be quite successful.
My parents didn’t communicate with each other as well as they should have.
My parents never really understood me.

160

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9.

10.

I had a very happy home life.
The members of my family were always very close to each other.
I often wondered whether my parents’ marriage would end in divorce.

Dissatisfaction with Children -— Full Text of Items

For the most part, our children are well behaved.

My children’s value systems are very much the same as my own.

Our relationship might have been happier if we had not had children.

I wish my children would show a little more concern for me.

My children and I don’t have very much in common to talk about.

Our children do not show adequate respect for their parents.

Our children don’t seem as happy and careﬁ'ee as other children their age.
Having children has not brought all of the satisfactions I had hoped it would.
Our children rarely fail to meet their responsibilities at home.

. Rearing children is a nerve-wracking job.
. I frequently get together with one or more of the children for fun or recreation at

home.
Conﬂict over Child Rearing — Full Text of Items

My partner and I rarely argue about the children.

My partner doesn’t spend enough time with the children.

My partner and I rarely disagree on when or how to discipline the children.
Our children often manage to drive a wedge between my partner and me.

My partner doesn’t display enough affection toward the children.

My partner and I decide together what rules to set for our children.

My partner doesn’t assume his or her fair share of taking care of the children.
My partner and I nearly always agree on how to respond to our children’s requests
for money or privileges.

Our relationship has never been in difﬁculty because of the children.

My partner and I assume equal responsibility for rearing the children.

161

APPENDIX E: SUINN-LEW ASIAN SELF -IDENTITY ACCULTURATION SCALE
Circle the one answer that best describes you.

1. What language can you speak?

1. Asian only (for example, Mandarin/Chinese dialects, Malay, etc.)
2. Mostly Asian, some English

3. Asian and English about equally well (bilingual)

4. Mostly English, some Asian

5. Only English

2. What language do you prefer?

1. Asian only (for example, Mandarin or Chinese dialects, Malay, etc.)
2. Mostly Asian, some English
3. Asian and English about equally well (bilingual)
4. Mostly English, some Asian
5. Only English
3. How do you identify yourself?
1. Chinese
2. Asian (for example, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Filipino/a, etc.)
3. Chinese American
4. Asian American
5. American
4. Which identification does (did) your mother use?
1. Chinese
2. Asian (for example, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, F ilipino/a, etc.)
3. Chinese American
4. Asian American
5. American
5. Which identification does (did) your father use?
1. Chinese
2. Asian (for example, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Filipino/a, etc.)
3. Chinese American
4. Asian American
5. American
6. What was the ethnic origin of the friends and peers you had, as a child up to age
6?
1. Almost exclusively Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese
2. Mostly Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese
3. About equally Asian groups and Anglo groups
4. Mostly Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups
5. Almost exclusively Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups

162

7. What was the ethnic origin of the friends and peers you had, as a child from 6 to
18?

8

.W
l
2
3
4
5

.V‘F‘PNT‘

Almost exclusively Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese

Mostly Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese

About equally Asian groups and Anglo groups

Mostly Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups

Almost exclusively Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups

horn do you now associate with in the community?

Almost exclusively Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese

Mostly Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese

About equally Asian groups and Anglo groups

Mostly Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups

Almost exclusively Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups

9. If you could choose, whom would you prefer to associate with in the community?

10.

11.

12.

EAF‘PN"?

Almost exclusively Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese

Mostly Asians, Asian Americans, Chinese

About equally Asian groups and Anglo groups

Mostly Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups

Almost exclusively Anglos, Blacks, Hispanics, or other non-Asian ethnic groups

What is your music preference?

V‘PP’E"?

W
l.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Only Asian music (for example, Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, F ilipino/a, etc.)
Mostly Asian

Equally Asian and English

Mostly English

English only

hat is your movie preference?

Only Asian-language movies

Mostly Asian-language movies

Equally Asian/English language movies
Mostly English-language movies

Only English-language movies

Where were you born?

.V‘PP’NT‘

China

Asian country other than China
Western country other than US
US

Other - where?

 

163

l3.

14.

15.

l6.

17.

18.

 

Where were you raised?

.V‘PPP?‘

In Asia only

Mostly in Asia, some in US
Equally in Asia and US
Mostly in US, some in Asia
In US only

What contact have you had with Asia?

V‘PP’E‘J?‘

Lived one year or more in Asia

Lived for less than a year in Asia

Occasional visits to Asia

Occasional communications (letters, phone calls, etc.) with people in Asia
No exposure or communication with people in Asia

What is your food preference at home?

V‘PP‘NI‘

Exclusively Asian food

Mostly Asian food, some American
About equally Asian and American
Mostly American food

Exclusively American food

What is your food preference in restaurants?

MPPN?

Exclusively Asian food

Mostly Asian food, some American
About equally Asian and American
Mostly American food

Exclusively American food

Read only an Asian language

Read an Asian language better than English
Read both Asian and English equally well
Read English better than an Asian language
Read only English

Write only an Asian language

Write an Asian language better than English
Write both Asian and English equally well
Write English better than an Asian language
Write only English

164

19. If you consider yourself a member of the Asian group (Chinese, Asian, Asian
American, Chinese American, etc., whatever term you prefer), how much pride do
you have in this group?

Extremely proud

Moderately proud

Little pride

No pride but do not feel negative toward group

No pride but do feel negative toward group

5":“9‘P1‘

20. How would you rate yourself?
1. Very Asian
2. Mostly Asian
3. Bicultural

4. Mostly Westemized
5. Very Westemized
21. Do you participate in Asian occasions, holidays, traditions, etc.?
1. Nearly all

2. Most of them
3. Some of them
4. A few of them
5. None at all

22. Rate yourself on how much you believe in Asian values (for example, about
marriage, families, education, and work). Circle only one number.

1 2 3 4 5
Do not believe Strongly believe
in Asian values in Asian values

23. Rate yourself on how much you believe in American/Western values (for
example, about marriage, families, education, and work). Circle only one number.

1 2 3 4 5
Do not believe Strongly believe
in Western values in Western values

24. Rate yourself on how well you ﬁt in with other Asians of the same ethnicity.
Circle only one number.

1 2 3 4 5
Do not ﬁt Fit very well

165

 

25. Rate yourself on how well you fit in with Americans who are non-Asian
(Westerners). Circle only one number.

1 2 3 4 5
Do not ﬁt Fit very well

26. There are many different ways in which people think of themselves. Which
ONE of the following most closely describes how you view yourself? Circle only one
number.

1. 1 consider myself basically an Asian person (e. g., Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino,
etc). Even though I live and work in America, I still view myself as an Asian
person.

2. I consider myself basically as an American. Even though I have an Asian
background and characteristics, I still view myself basically as an American.

3. I consider myself as an Asian American, although deep down, I always know I am
an Asian.

4. 1 consider myself as an Asian American, although deep down, I view myself as an
American ﬁrst.

5. I consider myself as an Asian American. I have both Asian and American
characteristics, and I view myself as a blend of both.

6. Not applicable

27. Have you ever lived in the United States? Yes No
If YES, how many years have you lived in the United States? years
If YES, how many years has your family lived in the United States? years
If YES, which of the following best describes your family in the United States?
For some time, but not now. How many years?
1” generation (I’m the ﬁrst generation to live in the US).
2nd generation (My parents lived in the US before me).
3rd generation (My grandparents lived in the US before me).
4’'1 generation (My great-grandparents lived in the US before me).
I don’t know.

 

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28. Country of origin? You Your Parents

 

 

166

APPENDIX F: OUTCOME QUESTIONNAIRE 452*

 

 

Name:

 

ID#

Age:
Sex:

 

 

Instructions: Looking back over the last week, including today, help us understand how
you have been feeling. Read each item carefully and mark the box under the category
which best describes your current situation. For this questionnaire, work is deﬁned as
employment, school, housework, volunteer work, and so forth.

 

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Frequently

Almost
Always

 

l. I get along well with others.

 

2. I tire quickly.

 

3. I feel no interest in things.

 

4. I feel stressed at work/school.

 

5. I blame myself for things.

 

6. I feel irritated.

 

7. I feel unhappy in my marriage/signiﬁcant
relationship.

 

8. I have thoughts of ending my life.

 

9. I feel weak.

 

10. I feel fearful.

 

11. After heavy drinking, I need a drink the
next morning to get going (If you do not
drink, mark “never.”).

 

12. I ﬁnd my work/school satisfying.

 

13. I am a happy person.

 

14. I work/study too much.

 

15. I feel worthless.

 

16. I am concerned about family troubles.

 

17. I have an unfulﬁlling sex life.

 

18. I feel lonely.

 

19. I have frequent arguments.

 

20. I feel loved and wanted.

 

21. I enjoy my spare time.

 

22. l have difﬁculty concentrating.

 

23. I feel hopeless about the ﬁrture.

 

24. I like myself.

 

25. Disturbing thoughts come into my mind
that I cannot get rid of.

 

26. I feel annoyed by people who criticize my
drinking (or drug use). If not applicable,
mark “never.”

 

27. I have an upset stomach.

 

28. I am not working/studying as well as I
used to.

 

29. My heart pounds too much.

 

30. l have trouble getting along with friends
and close acquaintances.

 

 

31. I am satisﬁed with my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

167

 

 

 

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Frequently

Almost
Always

 

32. I have trouble at work/school because of
drinking or drug use. If not applicable, mark
“never.”

 

33. I feel that something bad is going to
happen.

 

34. I have sore muscles.

 

35. I feel afraid of open spaces, of driving, or
beingon buses, subways, and so forth.

 

36. I feel nervous.

 

37. I feel my love relationships are full and
complete.

 

38. I feel that I am not doing well at
work/school.

 

39. I have too many disagreements at
work/school.

 

40. I feel something is wrong with my mind.

 

41. I have trouble falling asleep or staying
asleep.

 

42. I feel blue.

 

43. I am satisﬁed with my relationships with
others.

 

44. I feel angry enough at work/school to do
something I might regret.

 

 

45. I have headaches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Permission to use the OQ 45.2 must be obtained from American Professional

Credentialing Services, LLC.

168

 

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169

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