Relationship Intimacy and Life Satisfaction among Married Men and Women of Kerala

Page: 256-260
Aishwarya Sanilkumar and N.P.M. Hasmina Fathima (Christ College Autonomous, Irinjalakuda, Kerala)

The redefinition of health over time has given immense importance to the overall well-being of a person beyond the physical wellness and lack of diseases or infirmity. Life satisfaction being a cognitive component of well-being is a widely studied concept as it is related to the health of people. With the growth of the biopsychosocial model of health, social and psychological factors have become equally important in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illnesses. Social relationships are one of the major social determinants which influences the life of a person and thereby the present study tries to relate the factors of life satisfaction and relationship intimacy. A gender perspective within the embedded social grounds were given significance to comprehend the results better. The study was conducted on a sample of 28 married men and 59 married women of Kerala. The tools used for the statistical study were the PAIR intimacy scale Schaefer and Olson (1981) and the Satisfaction with life scale (Diener, 1985). Correlations, Regressions and t-tests were conducted to reach the significant conclusions. The study concluded that there is no significant difference in the Relationship intimacy and Life satisfaction of married men and women, while the correlation between these variables are significantly positive. It is also revealed that this correlation is significant only in the case of married men and not in the case of married women of Kerala. It is concluded through the results that relationship intimacy predicts life satisfaction among married men. Limitation and future possibilities of the study have also been discussed in the paper.