Qualidade da relação conjugal: uma avaliação dos casais residentes no Pará

Abstract

We investigated perceptions of couples on their own marital relationships. According to Evolutionary Psychology, an evolutionary framework which supports this study, those perceptions are part of monitoring mechanisms of relationship satisfaction. Specifically, we aimed to investigate how couples hosted in the metropolitan region of Belém evaluate the quality of their current marital relationships, through the comparison between responses of each husband and wife. We used the MARQ questionnaire to assess their marital satisfaction, thus we found length of relationship was 12,62 years on average. Most couples were from middle class, 86% of them reported satisfaction in their relationships. Among the 12 scales of MARQ, scales of jealous, partnership, and love were more important for relationship satisfaction than others. When we analyzed participants’ responses divided by sex, both husbands and wives evaluated sexual jealous, reconcilement and problems with partner as the most important factor for their satisfaction with relationship. Between those who have satisfaction in their relationships, we were able to find homogamy in their age, income range, and level of education. Results found support Evolutionary Psychology hypothesis about the omnipresence of love and jealous as mechanisms of pair bonding since our ancestors and nowadays. Among Northern Brazilians couples, it seems the jealous mechanisms are underlying their mating behavior. The small differences on evaluation of relationships between sexes did not impacted significantly on the satisfaction of wives and husbands in their relationships.