Sustaining relationships : the expectations and lived experiences of couples in Malta

Abstract

This report highlights the key findings emerging from the research project Sustaining Relationships: The expectations and lived experiences of couples in Malta. This is the second major study carried out by the National Centre for Family Research (NCFR), within the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society (PFWS), and was developed in response to the outcomes of the Sustaining Relationships survey, the first nationwide survey on life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction in Malta published in 2016 (PFWS, 2016). Findings from the quantitative survey underlined the significance of relationship satisfaction to the wellbeing of individuals. Being in a relationship, particularly a marital one, and being satisfied in one’s relationship were found to have a marked impact on life satisfaction. While findings from the survey suggested several factors which may affect relationship satisfaction, the survey did not explore how such elements are manifested within the couple relationship. This necessitated an in-depth exploration of how satisfaction in one’s relationship is experienced and shaped, and what meaning individuals in a relationship give to the couple relationship. The sample of this study included twenty-three participants who had participated in the large-scale Sustaining Relationships survey (PFWS, 2016). The participants included males and females aged 36 to 68, who reported to be in a relationship. While the majority of participants were married, the sample also consisted of those in a cohabiting and living-apart together relationship, as well as several participants in a reconstituted family. Most of the participants were parents. [Excerpt]