Assessment of Marital Adjustment and Interpersonal Relationships Among Working Women

Abstract

Marital adjustment is an important dimension of family and personal well-being and refers to the manner in which spouses adapt to each other, manage differences, maintain emotional closeness, and develop satisfaction and cooperation within marriage. The increasing participation of women in professional employment has created new opportunities as well as additional demands associated with balancing occupational and family responsibilities. The present study examined marital adjustment among working women employed as teaching staff at Shrimathi Indira Gandhi College, Trichy. The study adopted a descriptive research approach and included 67 respondents selected from the teaching staff. Data were collected using a structured schedule and a standardized Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The study examined selected socio-demographic characteristics and aspects of marital interaction and employed chi-square and one-way analysis of variance to examine associations and differences in marital adjustment. The findings indicate that 59.7% of respondents reported a low level of overall marital adjustment, while 40.3% reported a high level. Educational qualification showed a statistically significant association with overall marital adjustment, whereas age, monthly income, family size and number of dependents did not show significant associations in the reported chi-square analysis. Significant relationships were also reported for selected dimensions of marital interaction, including frequency of kissing and responses concerning sexual tiredness. ANOVA results indicated significant variation in marital adjustment across age and educational qualification groups, while monthly income, family size, number of dependents and husband's income did not show significant variation. The findings highlight the importance of communication, emotional expression, shared family activities, supportive family environments and accessible counselling services for working women. The study concludes that marital adjustment among working women is influenced by a combination of personal, relational and socio-demographic factors and that institutional and community-based support can contribute to improved family well-being.