Marital Satisfaction and Binuclear Families: The Effects of Having Children on the Marital Relationship

Abstract

In the field of counselling, marital/couple issues are a common theme. With the divorce rate skyrocketing over the last few decades, relatively new sorts of parenting issues are arising in many people, especially with binuclear families, which are becoming more common in our society. This thesis is focused on the effects of having children on the couple’s relationship, and specific emphasis on binuclear families as an emerging norm. This paper consists of four chapters: introduction, literature review, a suggested research study, and a discussion with practical considerations. This project is focused on exploring the relationship between couples’ satisfaction and the influence that the introduction of children has on it. The intention is to shed light on the decline of marital/couples satisfaction, with the aim to offer clinical implications for counsellors that may help prevent the breakdown of some families that involve children. By helping therapists be better equipped in the counselling room, this study suggests ways to prevent some common problems in family systems and therefore help prevent the various family units from breaking down and the possibility of negatively affecting the children.