新婚苦惱者婚姻苦惱經驗之研究

Abstract

摘要內容：

本研究旨在瞭解新婚苦惱者的婚姻苦惱經驗內涵，以及其繼續維持婚姻的掙扎與努力。研究者藉由詮釋現象學方法論觀點，試圖還原新婚苦惱者之經驗本質，並詮釋經驗蘊含之深層意義。本研究邀請到十六位新婚五年內，曾產生離婚意念，但仍留在婚姻中之參與者，進行半結構式的深度訪談，並以質性研究主題分析法對所蒐集到的文本資料，進行分析。 研究結果的主要發現如下：1.研究參與者浮現五項婚姻苦惱經驗之主題：「新婚轉變磨出苦澀滋味」、「關係問題不斷疊加累增」、「夫妻互動磋商，愈搓愈傷」、「期待渴望逐漸失落幻滅」，以及「底線遭踏，婚姻難再撐繼」。2.研究參與者在離婚意念產生之後，仍願意留在婚姻中，且繼續維繫婚姻的契機，則包括二個主題：「維持婚姻細思量」、「維繫婚姻見努力」。 研究也發現，婚姻苦惱係種因於婚前，顯現於新婚；而新婚此重要轉變階段，若轉變不順，問題便易發生，苦惱隨之浮顯。換言之，新婚苦惱交織於婚姻所處的環境脈絡與時空中，當個人期待落空，或是婚姻底線遭踏，婚姻便難以持守。而參與者的離婚意念萌生之際，亦是其婚姻韌性模塑之始。參與者的婚姻維繫得以出現新契機，使其繼續留在婚姻中，乃因婚姻的內在吸力、周遭助力與外在阻力俱存；而其個人的自我覺察與努力，更是夫妻互動與婚姻關係的改變關鍵。 本文最後針對新婚苦惱者之經驗與處境，提出對新婚苦惱者、婚姻教育工作者，以及婚姻/家庭研究者之建議。

關鍵字：婚姻苦惱、新婚、詮釋現象學、主題分析Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to explore the marital distress of newlyweds in Taiwan. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with sixteen newlyweds and sixteen transcripts were obtained. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Two major findings were identified: 1. Regarding participants’ distressed marital experiences, five significant themes were generated: “the new marriage transforms and turns bitter”; “relationship problems continuously accumulate”; “couples negotiate but hurt each other more”; “expectations gradually diminish and disappear”; and “the bottom line is stepped over and the marriage collapses”. 2. Two themes appeared for the study on the turning point for the newlyweds who had ideas to divorce but were still willing to stay in and work on the marriage: “thoughts on keeping the marriage” and “efforts on keeping the marriage”.

This study also discovers that marital distress originates before the marriage but manifests in it. A new marriage is a significant transformative moment. If the transformation is not smooth, problems arise so does distress. In other words, marital distress of newlyweds is weaved into the environmental and temporal threads the marriage is tied to. When personal expectations disappoint or the bottom line of marriage is stepped over, the marriage becomes difficult to maintain. However, when the newlyweds begin to contemplate divorce, it is also when the resilience of the marriage starts to form. The turning point for the divorce-inclined newlyweds to stay in the marriage depends on the internal attraction of the marriage as well as assistance and resistance around the newlyweds. The key to change the interactions and relationship of the couple is the newlyweds’ self-awareness and efforts to keep the marriage.

Learning from the experiences of distressed newlyweds, this study provides fresh insights and proposes recommendations to distressed newlyweds, marriage counselors, marriage education practitioners, and researchers of marriage and family issues.

Key words: marital distress, newlywed, hermeneutic phenomenology, thematic analysis