Affection and play in marriage المودة

أُحِلَّ لَكُمۡ لَيۡلَةَ ٱلصِّيَامِ ٱلرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَآئِكُمۡۚ هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّۗ عَلِمَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّكُمۡ كُنتُمۡ تَخۡتَانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمۡ فَتَابَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَعَفَا عَنكُمۡۖ فَٱلۡـَٰٔنَ بَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَٱبۡتَغُواْ مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡۚ وَكُلُواْ وَٱشۡرَبُواْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ ٱلۡخَيۡطُ ٱلۡأَبۡيَضُ مِنَ ٱلۡخَيۡطِ ٱلۡأَسۡوَدِ مِنَ ٱلۡفَجۡرِۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّواْ ٱلصِّيَامَ إِلَى ٱلَّيۡلِۚ وَلَا تُبَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمۡ عَٰكِفُونَ فِي ٱلۡمَسَٰجِدِۗ تِلۡكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَقۡرَبُوهَاۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَّقُونَ

You [believers] are permitted to lie with your wives during the night of the fast: they are [close] as garments to you, as you are to them. God was aware that you were betraying yourselves, so He turned to you in mercy and pardoned you: now you can lie with them- seek what God has ordained for you- eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black. Then fast until nightfall. Do not lie with them during the nights of your devotional retreat in the mosques: these are the bounds set by God, so do not go near them. In this way God makes His messages clear to people, that they may guard themselves against doing wrong

وَمِنۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَنۡ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنۡ أَنفُسِكُمۡ أَزۡوَٰجࣰ ا لِّتَسۡكُنُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيۡنَكُم مَّوَدَّةࣰ وَرَحۡمَةًۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَٰتࣲ لِّقَوۡمࣲ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Another of His signs is that He created spouses from among yourselves for you to live with in tranquillity: He ordained love and kindness between you. There truly are signs in this for those who reflect

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلَّذِي يُبَشِّرُ ٱللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِۗ قُل لَّآ أَسۡـَٔلُكُمۡ عَلَيۡهِ أَجۡرًا إِلَّا ٱلۡمَوَدَّةَ فِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰۗ وَمَن يَقۡتَرِفۡ حَسَنَةࣰ نَّزِدۡ لَهُۥ فِيهَا حُسۡنًاۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورࣱ شَكُورٌ

it is of this that God gives good news to His servants who believe and do good deeds. Say [Prophet], ‘I ask no reward from you for this, only the affection due to kin.’ If anyone does good, We shall increase it for him; God is most forgiving and most appreciative

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمۡ أَوۡلِيَآءَ تُلۡقُونَ إِلَيۡهِم بِٱلۡمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدۡ كَفَرُواْ بِمَا جَآءَكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡحَقِّ يُخۡرِجُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمۡ أَن تُؤۡمِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ رَبِّكُمۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ خَرَجۡتُمۡ جِهَٰدࣰ ا فِي سَبِيلِي وَٱبۡتِغَآءَ مَرۡضَاتِيۚ تُسِرُّونَ إِلَيۡهِم بِٱلۡمَوَدَّةِ وَأَنَا۠ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَآ أَخۡفَيۡتُمۡ وَمَآ أَعۡلَنتُمۡۚ وَمَن يَفۡعَلۡهُ مِنكُمۡ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ

You who believe, do not take My enemies and yours as your allies, showing them friendship when they have rejected the truth you have received, and have driven you and the Messenger out simply because you believe in God, your Lord––not if you truly emigrated in order to strive for My cause and seek My good pleasure. You secretly show them friendship––I know all you conceal and all you reveal–– but any of you who do this are straying from the right path

وَلَئِنۡ أَصَٰبَكُمۡ فَضۡلࣱ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ لَيَقُولَنَّ كَأَن لَّمۡ تَكُنۢ بَيۡنَكُمۡ وَبَيۡنَهُۥ مَوَدَّةࣱ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي كُنتُ مَعَهُمۡ فَأَفُوزَ فَوۡزًا عَظِيمࣰ ا

yet he is sure to say, if you are favoured by God, ‘If only I had been with them, I could have made great gains,’ as if there had been no ties of affection between you and him

۞لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ ٱلنَّاسِ عَدَٰوَةࣰ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱلۡيَهُودَ وَٱلَّذِينَ أَشۡرَكُواْۖ وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقۡرَبَهُم مَّوَدَّةࣰ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا نَصَٰرَىٰۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنۡهُمۡ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهۡبَانࣰ ا وَأَنَّهُمۡ لَا يَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ

You [Prophet] are sure to find that the most hostile to the believers are the Jews and those who associate other deities with God; you are sure to find that the closest in affection towards the believers are those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ for there are among them people devoted to learning and ascetics. These people are not given to arrogance

(It is made lawful for you to go in unto your wives on the night of the fast...) [2:187]. According to the report of al-Walibi, Ibn �Abbas said: �This is because after the nightfall (�Isha�) prayer during Ramadan, the Muslims were forbidden to have food or sex until the following night. But some Muslims, among whom were �Umar ibn al-Khattab, complained to Allah�s Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Abu Bakr al-Asfahani informed us> Abu�l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> �Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Razi> Sahl ibn �Uthman al-�Askari> Yahya ibn Abi Za�idah> his father and others> Abu Ishaq> al-Bara� ibn �Azib who said: �After breaking their fast, the Muslims used to be allowed to eat, drink and have sexual intercourse for as long as they did not sleep. Once they went to sleep, they were forbidden to do all these things until the f

Permitted to you upon the night of the Fast is to go in to your wives in sexual intercourse this was revealed as an abrogation of its unlawfulness during the earliest phase of Islam as well as an abrogation of the unlawfulness of eating and drinking after the night prayer; they are a vestment for you and you are a vestment for them a metaphor for their embraces or their need for one another; God knows that you have been betraying yourselves by having sexual intercourse on the eve of the fast this happened with ‘Umar b. al-Khattāb and others and they apologised to the Prophet s and so He has turned to you relenting before you even turned in repentance and He has pardoned you. So now when it is permitted to you lie with them in sexual intercourse and seek what God has prescribed for you of sexual intercourse or what it produces of offspring; and eat and drink at any time during the night u

And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates — Eve was created from Adam’s rib and the remainder of mankind from the reproductive fluids of men and women — that you might find peace by their side and become intimate with them and He ordained between you all affection and mercy. Surely in that mentioned there are signs for a people who reflect upon God’s handiwork exalted be He.

And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, and then – behold you are human beings scattered (20)And among His signs is this that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect (21) Among the Signs of Allah Allah says: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ (And among His signs) – which speak of His might and power, is the fact that He created your father Adam out of dust. ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنْتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنْتَشِرُونَ (and then – behold you are human beings scattered!) So man's origins lie in dust, then in a despised liquid, then he is formed and becomes a clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones in the form of a human being. Then Allah clothes the bones with flesh. Then the soul is breathed into him and he can hear and see. Then he comes forth from his mot

(Say (O Muhammad, unto mankind): I ask of you no fee therefor, save loving kindness among kinsfolk�) [42:23]. Said Ibn �Abbas: �When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, migrated to Medina, he went through periods of time when he faced needs and rights which he had to address but did not have the means to do so. The Helpers said: �Allah, exalted is He, has guided you through this man who is the son of your sister. He faces life�s vicissitudes and has rights but does not have the means to fulfil them. Collect for him from your wealth that which will not hurt you and give it to him so that he uses it to help himself with the ups and downs of life�. They collected some wealth and took it to him. They said: �O Messenger of Allah, you are the son of our sister, and Allah, exalted is He, has guided us through you. Sometimes you go through ups and downs in life and you al

That is the good tidings read yubshiru or yubashshiru from bishāra ‘good news’ which God gives to His servants who believe and perform righteous deeds. Say ‘I do not ask of you any reward for it for delivering the Message except the affection for my kinsfolk illā ‘except’ this represents a discontinuous exception in other words ‘but I do ask of you that you show affection for my kinship with you which at the same time is your kinship’; for he the Prophet had kinship ties with all the subdivisions of the tribe of Quraysh. And whoever acquires a good deed an act of obedience We shall enhance for him its goodness by multiplying the reward for it. Surely God is Forgiving of sins Appreciative even of little good and so He multiplies it manifold.

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ دِينَارٍ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ تَزَوَّجْتُ امْرَأَةً فَأَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ‏"‏ أَتَزَوَّجْتَ يَا جَابِرُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ بِكْرًا أَمْ ثَيِّبًا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ لاَ بَلْ ثَيِّبًا ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ هَلاَّ جَارِيَةً تُلاَعِبُهَا وَتُلاَعِبُكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ مَاتَ وَتَرَكَ سَبْعَ بَنَاتٍ أَوْ تِسْعًا فَجِئْتُ بِمَنْ يَقُومُ عَلَيْهِنَّ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَدَعَا لِي ‏.‏ قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أُبَىِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ وَكَعْبِ بْنِ عُجْرَةَ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى حَدِيثُ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏

Jabir bin Abdullah narrated:"I married a woman and went to the Prophet, he said: 'O Jabir! Have you married?' I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'A virgin or a matron?' I said: 'A matron.' He said: 'Why didn't you marry a young girl, so that you may play with her and she with you?' I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Abdullah (his father) died and left behind seven - or nine - daughter, so I have brought someone who can look after them.'" (He said:) "So he supplicated for me

حَدَّثَنَا عَبَّاسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَظِيمِ الْعَنْبَرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا النَّضْرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْجُرَشِيُّ الْيَمَامِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو زُمَيْلٍ، عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ مَرْثَدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ تَبَسُّمُكَ فِي وَجْهِ أَخِيكَ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَأَمْرُكَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهْيُكَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ صَدَقَةٌ وَإِرْشَادُكَ الرَّجُلَ فِي أَرْضِ الضَّلاَلِ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَبَصَرُكَ لِلرَّجُلِ الرَّدِيءِ الْبَصَرِ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَإِمَاطَتُكَ الْحَجَرَ وَالشَّوْكَةَ وَالْعَظْمَ عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَإِفْرَاغُكَ مِنْ دَلْوِكَ فِي دَلْوِ أَخِيكَ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَجَابِرٍ وَحُذَيْفَةَ وَعَائِشَةَ وَأَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ ‏.‏ وَأَبُو زُمَيْلٍ اسْمُهُ سِمَاكُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ الْحَنَفِيُّ ‏.‏

Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said :"Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, commanding good and forbidding evil is charity, your giving directions to a man lost in the land is charity for you. Your seeing for a man with bad sight is a charity for you, your removal of a rock, a thorn or a bone from the road is charity for you. Your pouring what remains from your bucket into the bucket of your brother is charity for you

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ بْنِ قَعْنَبٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَفْلَحُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، عَنِ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ كُنْتُ أَغْتَسِلُ أَنَا وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ، صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ إِنَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ تَخْتَلِفُ أَيْدِينَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ ‏.‏

A'isha reported:I and the Messenger (ﷺ) took a bath from the same vessel and our hands alternated into it in the state that we had had sexual intercourse

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاذُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سَلَمَةَ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، أَنَّ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتَ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، حَدَّثَتْهُ أَنَّ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ حَدَّثَتْهَا قَالَتْ، كَانَتْ هِيَ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَغْتَسِلاَنِ فِي الإِنَاءِ الْوَاحِدِ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ ‏.‏

Zainab bint Umm Salama (the wife of the Holy Prophet) reported that Umm Salama and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took a bath from the same vessel

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو صَالِحٍ الأَنْطَاكِيُّ، مَحْبُوبُ بْنُ مُوسَى أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ، - يَعْنِي الْفَزَارِيَّ - عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، وَعَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّهَا كَانَتْ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي سَفَرٍ قَالَتْ فَسَابَقْتُهُ فَسَبَقْتُهُ عَلَى رِجْلَىَّ فَلَمَّا حَمَلْتُ اللَّحْمَ سَابَقْتُهُ فَسَبَقَنِي فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ هَذِهِ بِتِلْكَ السَّبْقَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: while she was on a journey along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): I had a race with him (the Prophet) and I outstripped him on my feet. When I became fleshy, (again) I had a race with him (the Prophet) and he outstripped me. He said: This is for that outstripping

حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ دَاوُدَ، عَنْ مِسْعَرٍ، عَنِ الْمِقْدَامِ بْنِ شُرَيْحٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ كُنْتُ أَتَعَرَّقُ الْعَظْمَ وَأَنَا حَائِضٌ، فَأُعْطِيهِ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَيَضَعُ فَمَهُ فِي الْمَوْضِعِ الَّذِي فِيهِ وَضَعْتُهُ وَأَشْرَبُ الشَّرَابَ فَأُنَاوِلُهُ فَيَضَعُ فَمَهُ فِي الْمَوْضِعِ الَّذِي كُنْتُ أَشْرَبُ مِنْهُ ‏.‏

Aishah said:I would eat flesh from a bone when I was menstruating, then hand it over to the Prophet(ﷺ) and he would put his mouth where I had put my mouth: I would drink, then hand it over to him, and he would put his mouth( at the place) where I drank

قال عطاء عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما : المودة

قال النوري إذا تزوج وقال أي شيء للمرأة فاعلم أنه لص وإذا أهدى إليهم فلا ينبغي أن يهدى ليضطرهم إلى المقابلة بأكثر منه وكذلك إذا أهدوا إليه فنية طلب الزيادة نية فاسدة فأما التهادي فمستحب وهو سبب المودة

قوله مهاداة السر أي تردد السر على وجه الألطاف والمودة

هو في شرعة المودة ذو شك % بعيد من صحة الإيمان

والخليل الصديق والأنثى خليلة والخلالة والخلالة والخلالة بكسر الخاء وفتحها وضمها الصداقة والمودة قال

وأما الخلم فهو مأخوذ من المخالمة وهي المصادقة والمودة والخلم الصديق والأخلام الأصحاب قال الكميت

Open hearts build lives: positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources.: B. L. Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions asserts that people's daily experiences of positive emotions compound over time to build a variety of consequential personal resources. The authors tested this build hypothesis in a field experiment with working adults (n = 139), half of whom were randomly-assigned to begin a practice of loving-kindness meditation. Results showed that this meditation practice produced increases over time in daily experiences of positi

Oxytocin enhances brain reward system responses in men viewing the face of their female partner.: The biological mechanisms underlying long-term partner bonds in humans are unclear. The evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is associated with the formation of partner bonds in some species via interactions with brain dopamine reward systems. However, whether it plays a similar role in humans has as yet not been established. Here, we report the results of a discovery and a replication study, each involving a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, pharmaco-functional M

Neuroimaging of love: fMRI meta-analysis evidence toward new perspectives in sexual medicine.: Introduction: Brain imaging is becoming a powerful tool in the study of human cerebral functions related to close personal relationships. Outside of subcortical structures traditionally thought to be involved in reward-related systems, a wide range of neuroimaging studies in relationship science indicate a prominent role for different cortical networks and cognitive factors. Thus, the field needs a better anatomical/network/whole-brain model to help translate scientific knowledge from lab bench

A wait-list randomized controlled trial of loving-kindness meditation programme for self-criticism.: Unlabelled: Self-criticism is a vulnerability risk factor for a number of psychological disorders, and it predicts poor response to psychological and pharmacological treatments. In the current study, we evaluated the efficacy of a loving-kindness meditation (LKM) programme designed to increase self-compassion in a sample of self-critical individuals. Thirty-eight individuals with high scores on the self-critical perfectionism subscale of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale were randomized to an LKM

Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions to repetitive thoughts.: Decentering has been proposed as a potential mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions but has received limited empirical examination to date in experimental studies comparing mindfulness meditation to active comparison conditions. In the present study, we compared the immediate effects of mindful breathing (MB) to two alternative stress-management techniques: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) to test whether decentering is unique to mindfulness meditati

The common neural bases between sexual desire and love: a multilevel kernel density fMRI analysis.: Introduction: One of the most difficult dilemmas in relationship science and couple therapy concerns the interaction between sexual desire and love. As two mental states of intense longing for union with others, sexual desire and love are, in fact, often difficult to disentangle from one another. Aim: The present review aims to help understand the differences and similarities between these two mental states using a comprehensive statistical meta-analyses of all functional magnetic resonance imag

Does talking about their relationship affect couples' marital and psychological adjustment to lung cancer?

Introduction: Relationship talk refers to talking with a partner about the relationship, what one needs from one's partner, and/or the relationship implications of a shared stressor. This prospective study examined the effects of relationship talk on couples' psychosocial adaptation to lung cancer. Methods: A total of 169 patients (63% male) and 167 of their partners completed a series of questionnaires within 4-weeks of treatment initiation for newly diagnosed lung cancer (baseline). Follow-up questionnaires were administered 3 and 6 months later. Results: Multilevel models using the couple as the unit of analysis showed that patients and partners who reported more frequent relationship talk had less distress (effect size r = 0.16) and greater marital adjustment over time (effect size r = 0.21), regardless of gender. Satisfaction with the frequency of relationship talk was associated wi…

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Prospective associations from family-of-origin interactions to adult marital interactions and relationship adjustment.

To test the social learning-based hypothesis that marital conflict resolution patterns are learned in the family of origin, longitudinal, observational data were used to assess prospective associations between family conflict interaction patterns during adolescence and offspring's later marital conflict interaction patterns. At age 14 years, 47 participants completed an observed family conflict resolution task with their parents. In a subsequent assessment 17 years later, the participants completed measures of marital adjustment and an observed marital conflict interaction task with their spouse. As predicted, levels of hostility and positive engagement expressed by parents and adolescents during family interactions were prospectively linked with levels of hostility and positive engagement expressed by offspring and their spouses during marital interactions. Family-of-origin hostility wa…

matched on Marriage (mesh), Interpersonal Relations (mesh)

Sexuality and quality of life.

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationships between sexual activity and intimacy and quality of life (QOL) of older adults. The authors' research question was "To what extent do age, gender, marital status, health status, education, satisfaction with personal relationships, sexual activity, and satisfaction with intimacy explain older adults' ratings of QOL?" A secondary analysis was conducted using results from a cross-sectional survey. Data were available from a convenience sample of 426 individuals living in British Columbia, Canada, who volunteered to complete the questionnaire. Instruments included the WHOQOL-100, WHOQOL-OLD, and a demographic data sheet. It was found that the strongest contributors to the variance of overall QOL were satisfaction with personal relationships, followed by health status andsexual activity. Age, gender, marital status, and education w…

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Mindful relating: exploring mindfulness and emotion repertoires in intimate relationships.

This study tested the theory that mindfulness contributes to greater intimate relationship satisfaction by fostering more relationally skillful emotion repertoires. A sample of married couples was administered measures of mindful awareness, emotion skills, and marital quality. We hypothesized that mindfulness would be associated with both marital quality and partners' emotion skills and that the association between mindfulness and marital quality would be mediated by emotion repertoire skill. Findings suggested that emotion skills and mindfulness are both related to marital adjustment, and that skilled emotion repertoires, specifically those associated with identifying and communicating emotions, as well as the regulation of anger expression, fully mediate the association between mindfulness and marital quality. Theoretical implications are discussed.

matched on Marriage (mesh), Interpersonal Relations (mesh)

Optimally matching support and perceived spousal sensitivity.

Partner sensitivity is an important antecedent of both intimacy (H. T. Reis & P. Shaver, 1988) and attachment (M. D. S. Ainsworth, 1989). On the basis of the optimal matching model of social support (C. E. Cutrona & D. Russell, 1990), support behaviors that "matched" the support goals of the stressed individual were predicted to lead to the perception of partner sensitivity. Predictions were tested with 59 married couples, who engaged in a videotaped self-disclosure task. Matching support was defined as the disclosure of emotions followed by emotional support or a request for information followed by informational support. Partial evidence was found for the predictions. Matching support following the disclosure of emotions was predictive of perceived partner sensitivity. Mismatched support following the disclosure of emotions predicted lower marital satisfaction, through the mediation of …

matched on Marriage (mesh), Interpersonal Relations (mesh)

Women's mental health in the Muslim world: cultural, religious, and social issues.

In Arab communities, several cultural factors, derived mainly from the subordinate position of women, have been shown to affect the prevalence, clinical picture, health seeking behaviour, course and management of psychopathology in women. Women are definitely at a greater risk of developing mental disorders such as depressive, somatoform, anxious or eating disorders, as well as suicidal behaviors. Furthermore, mentally ill women are more stigmatized, have less access to care and suffer from a worse social outcome. This paper describes a series of culture-related risk factors such as education, work, sexuality, marriage, and infertility, which significantly contribute to triggering mental disorders in females, or to worsen their course and outcome. The authors recommend that mental health providers should play a critical role by addressing the cultural as well as psychological conditions …

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Premarital education, marital quality, and marital stability: findings from a large, random household survey.

One of the limitations of experimental studies on the effectiveness of premarital education is the reliance on samples of mostly White, middle-class couples. In contrast, although survey methods allow only weak inferences about causal relations, representative surveys can yield important information about use and estimated effects across a diverse population. Using a large random survey of 4 middle American states, the authors found that participation in premarital education was associated with higher levels of satisfaction and commitment in marriage and lower levels of conflict-and also reduced odds of divorce. These estimated effects were robust across race, income (including among the poor), and education levels, which suggests that participation in premarital education is generally beneficial for a wide range of couples.

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Chronic pain couples: perceived marital interactions and pain behaviours.

Patient adjustment to chronic pain is well known to be influenced by the spouse and his or her response to patient expressions of pain. However, these responses do not occur in a vacuum, and the aim of the present study was to investigate patient-spouse interactions in chronic pain in detail. Ninety-five patient-spouse dyads completed questionnaires relating to mood, marital satisfaction and communication, and 80 couples also took part in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results showed that spouses of chronic pain patients reported engaging in a far wider repertoire of responses to pain behaviours than has been recognised to date. New response categories of 'hostile-solicitous' and 'observe only' were identified. Patients generally interpreted solicitous responses less favourably than spouse responses which encouraged task persist…

matched on Marriage (mesh), Interpersonal Relations (mesh)

Therapeutically induced changes in couple identity: the role of we-ness and interpersonal processing in relationship satisfaction.

Changes in partners' sense of self-in-relationship, which a systemic-constructivist couple therapy (SCCT) induced, led to robust improvement in satisfaction in 2 studies and a follow-up study. In each study, 13 referred couples completed measures of satisfaction, mutuality, similarities, and other-in-self construal pre-post 12 hours of SCCT. The authors reliably coded transcripts of 1st and final sessions for each partner's we-ness, the identity that each partner establishes in relationship to the other. Having met the criteria for the rigorous study of change in single group process-outcome design, changes in we-ness accompanied large posttherapy dyadic increments on all variables in each study. Therapeutic gains appeared at follow-up and correlated with increased we-ness obtained at end of therapy 2 years earlier. The authors raise theoretical implications for all types of couple thera…

matched on Marriage (mesh), Interpersonal Relations (mesh)

Couple similarity and marital satisfaction: are similar spouses happier?

This study examined the role of couple similarity in spouses' marital satisfaction and affect. The associations between spousal similarity and relationship measures were examined in a sample of 248 married couples. As hypothesized, greater similarity between partners was associated with higher levels of marital satisfaction and lower levels of negative affect. In particular, similarity on the gendered personality and values domains was more strongly associated with relationship measures, whereas similarity on the attitudes and religiosity domains showed weaker and inconsistent patterns of associations. Finally, profile-based similarity tended to be a stronger and more consistent correlate of relationship measures than difference score-based similarity. The implications of these findings for processes underlying intimate relationships are discussed.

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A cross-cultural analysis of the demand-withdraw marital interaction: observing couples from a developing country.

The authors used cross-cultural methodology to examine the demand-withdraw pattern of marital communication. In Western countries, women usually make more demands, whereas men are more likely to withdraw. But the recently advanced marital structure hypothesis suggests that this pattern can be altered by gender roles and beliefs, particularly in traditional marriages. To test such hypotheses, the authors conducted an observational study of marital communication across very different cultures, with varying levels of patriarchy (i.e., 50 White American couples, 52 Pakistani couples in Pakistan, and 48 immigrant Pakistani couples in America). Across cultures, demand-withdraw communication was related to marital distress, extending previous findings to new groups. However, the findings challenge the notion that demanding and withdrawing behaviors are inherently male or female; rather, the res…

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Leaving the land: an exploratory study of retirement for a small group of Australian men.

Introduction: Retirement from paid work is a major life change for men and women. It has been suggested that, for men, self-identity is more strongly associated with paid work than is generally the case for women. If this is so, then the retirement transition for men, in which not only the behaviours of a lifetime but also the sense of self must be substantially recast, is of particular interest for the challenges it can present to their wellbeing. Research into male retirement has concentrated on the experiences of urban dwellers. Little is known of the retirement experiences of rural men and particularly of those who, after a life of farming and of close affiliation with the land, have moved from their farms in retirement. Thus, this qualitative study aimed to explore the retirement experiences of a small group of rural men who, in retirement, have left the land. Methods: Using a pheno…

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Romeo swipes Juliet left!? Problematic online dating app use and problematic pornography consumption are associated with a weaker sense of existential meaning in romantic love.

Background: Although prior studies have examined the psycho-socio-sexual outcomes associated with problematic engagement with online dating apps and pornography, these behaviors remain largely unexplored from an existential perspective. Romantic love can also be viewed through an existential lens (e.g., contributing to one's sense of essence). This study investigated the relatively understudied relationships between problematic online dating app use, problematic pornography consumption, and existential perceptions of romantic love. Methods: A total of 664 Iranian adults (Mage = 26.4, SDage = 7.6) who used dating apps and pornography websites were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was conducted to assess the relationships among the study variables. Results: The results showed that, controlling for demographics, problematic online dating app use and problematic pornography consumption…

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