A qualitative exploration of marital satisfaction among Filipino Americans and European Americans in intercultural marriages: A cross-case analysis

This study focused on the quality of marital satisfaction between Filipino American and European American spouses living in the United States, prompted by a dearth of empirical research on this intercultural population despite its surge in recent decades. The researcher relied on the conceptual/theoretical framework known as the Family Strengths Perspective to develop four major research questions on child-rearing, influence of family and friends, communication patterns, and gender roles, as well as subsequent interview questions proffered to seven qualifying couples comprised of European American husbands and Filipino American wives. The couples' answers revealed several themes and sub-themes of importance, categorized by relationship, family, financial, and cultural issues. These themes suggested a number of factors influence marital satisfaction, such as the nature of the couples' relationships, including the quality of communication between spouses, their feelings of commitment, and how gender roles are negotiated between them. The family themes suggested child-rearing and respect for elders, as well as the degree to which each spouse is influenced by their family and friends were important. Finances were at issue with emphases on budgeting, spending, and the wives' practice of sending money overseas to relatives. The most significant cultural influences were the wives' longing for the traditional Filipino support system and both spouse's decisions about celebrating each other's cultural holidays and special events and their cultural food preferences. The study concludes that the diversity of perceptions and experiences among the study's participants makes it impossible to generalize the findings as to the major influences on marital satisfaction, indicating a need to widen the sample population in order to discover more conclusive findings.