婚前關係與婚後適應：一個長期性的研究

Premarital Relationship and Marital Adjustment: A Longitudinal Study

婚前關係始自婚前兩人相遇，互相交往，最後選擇對方為配偶的過程。婚前錯誤的選擇或婚前沒有協調好的歧異可能延伸至婚後，成為雙方婚姻問題的導火線。本研究為台灣華人婚姻關係的長期性研究，藉由對分布在台灣各地的四十九對（n = 98）夫妻所蒐集到的雙方婚前關係發展及婚後適應歷程的資料，研究者以迴歸分析及MANOVA等統計方法進行各項研究假設的考驗。本研究的主要發現有三：第一、婚前在偶然的情況下開展雙方關係的夫妻，相對於因環境上的相近或經第三者中介而認識的夫妻，婚後在工作與家庭間的協調上有較多的困難。第二、丈夫婚後在家庭與工作間適應的困難度受到婚前與雙方社交網絡的互動及其他環境外力因素的影響，妻子婚後在夫妻間適應的需要度則與婚前自身擇偶的標準及雙方互動的情形有關。最後，婚前關係起伏程度越高（包括驟熱驟冷型、有驚無險及波折叢生型等三種關係發展類型）的夫妻，婚後在夫妻間相互適應的需要度及困難度越高，婚姻滿意度也越低；再加上經常使用消極的調適策略，使得婚前關係發展類型較不穩定的夫妻發展出負面或消極的婚姻適應模式，並成為日後婚姻可能解體的危險群。

We undertook a longitudinal study to examine the connection between the processes through which premarital partners joint together as mate and the subsequent marital adjustment processes and outcomes. Forty nine Taiwanese newly-married couples were interviewed to obtain graphs of changes in commitment during courtship and reasons for the changes, which were coded into eight categories. Three years later, data revealed their marital adjustment processes and outcomes were collected. Longitudinal data were analyzed using regression and MONOVA methods. Three major findings were unveiled. First, compared to those who met due to environmental propinquity or intermediary of a third party, couples met in accidental (chance) conditions perceived more difficulty balancing their work and family after marriage. Second, husbands' adjustment difficulty on work and family was related to premarital interaction with social network and other circumstantial events while wives' level of dyadic adjustment difficulty was predicted by their evaluation of the partner against a predetermined standard and their perceived positiveness of premarital dyadic interaction. Finally, courtships with high volatility were found to result in lower level of dyadic adjustment and marital satisfaction. Because couples with unstable courtship pattern, compared to those with stable courtship pattern used more negative (passive) coping strategies, they therefore developed passive and negative adjustment patterns and may more easily subject to later marital dissolution.