華人婚姻品質的維繫：衝突與忍讓的中介效果

Maintaining Quality of Marriage : The Mediating Effect of Conflict and Ren(Tolerance) for Taiwanese Married Couples

本研究以台北縣市352對夫妻為對象，探討華人婚姻品質維繫的機制，並以結構方程模式檢視婚姻中衝突與忍讓行為之來源及對婚姻品質的影響。研究結果顯示，不論是丈夫或妻子的模式均具有良好的適配度，且本研究所提出的大部分假設均獲得支持，亦即婚姻中忍讓信念及夫妻情感均對忍讓行為有正向且直接的影響，夫妻情感對忍讓行為及婚姻品質有正向且直接的影響，且忍讓行為對外顯衝突有負向而直接的影響。不過忍讓信念與行為對婚姻品質的直接影響及忍讓信念對外顯衝突的直接影響之假設並未獲得支持，在面對夫妻衝突時，個人婚姻中的忍讓信念增加其忍讓行為，而忍讓行為對婚姻品質的主要影響機制是透過降低外顯衝突而來。

Although literature has suggested destructive conflict resolution behaviors are harmful to marriage, it has ignored one important coping strategy for Chinese people in face of interpersonal conflict－ren(tolerance). This study tested whether conflict and ren behaviors mediate associations between affection / belief and quality of marriage among Taiwanese couples. Data were used from a sample of 352 married couples aged 20-73 of which 70% had children under 18, drawn from a study conducted in the Taipei area. Relations among affection (intimacy and en-ching), beliefs in ren (beneficence, utility, mercy, commitment), conflict behavior (attack and complain), ren behavior (repression, receptiveness, and endurance), and marital quality (satisfaction and stability) were examined. Structural equation models showed the mediating effects of conflict and ren behaviors. The results indicated that husbands and wives who have more affection for their spouse and hold stronger beliefs in ren tend to adopt frequently ren coping strategy in dealing with marital disputes. Engaging more ren behavior was related to less conflict behavior and less conflict behavior was associated with higher levels of marital quality. Ren behavior had an indirect association with the evaluation of the marriage by curtailing conflict behavior.