moral commitment and religiosity in newlywed women and their influence on infidelity expectations

Carlos G. FloresDr. Kelly Campbell Department of PsychologyCalifornia State University, San Bernardino

THE ROLE OF MORAL COMMITMENT ON NEWLYWED WOMEN'S INFIDELITY EXPECTATIONS

Introduction

Commitment

Expectations of monogamy

Expectations of monogamy

Disapproval of infidelity

20-25% engage in it

20-25% engage in it

50-65% enter counseling

20-25% engage in it

50-65% enter counseling

Most cited reason for divorce

Previous study

COMMITMENT FRAMEWORK

COMMITMENT FRAMEWORK

•Personal Commitment•“Want to”

COMMITMENT FRAMEWORK

•Personal Commitment•“Want to”

•Moral Commitment•“Ought to”

COMMITMENT FRAMEWORK

•Personal Commitment•“Want to”

•Moral Commitment•“Ought to”

•Structural Commitment• “Have to”

Infidelity

COMMITMENT FRAMEWORK

•Personal Commitment•“Want to”

•Moral Commitment•“Ought to”

•Structural Commitment• “Have to”

MORAL COMMITMENT

MORAL COMMITMENT

•Values about dissolution• Attitudes about divorce

MORAL COMMITMENT

•Values about dissolution• Attitudes about divorce

•Personal Moral obligation to others

• Partner contract

MORAL COMMITMENT

•Values about dissolution• Attitudes about divorce

•Personal Moral obligation to others

• Partner contract

•Value of Consistency• “Always finish what you start”

Problem

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

•Which subcomponents of Moral Commitment are related to women’s expectations of infidelity?

•Does religiosity affect expectations of infidelity in newlywed women?

SAMPLE•197 Women

• Online Questionnaire

•Newly married• Less than 2 years Married

• Long enough to have already experienced dissatisfaction

• Without Children• In their first marriage

ANALYSIS•Multiple regression used

•PREDICTORS• Commitment Framework (Johnson et al., 1999)

• 13 Questions• Likert-type• From “Very Little” (1) to “Very much” (5)

• Reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients):• Moral Commitment = .857

• Values about dissolution = .849• Partner contract = .712• Consistency values = .833

ANALYSIS•PREDICTORS Cont’d

• Religiosity (Campbell, 2008)• “How religious are you?”

• Very• Fairly• Slightly• Not religious

•CRITERIA• Infidelity Expectations (Campbell, 2008)

• Assign percentage from 0-100%

Results

OVERALL LINEAR MODEL

•The overall model was significant

• F(15, 168) = 2.22, p = .007• R2 = .407, Adjusted R2 = .091

MORAL COMMITMENT:Values about dissolution

Questions B SE B β pIf you divorced, to what extent would you be disappointed in yourself because you had broken a sacred vow? -.726 .555 -.142 .193

How much does getting a divorce violate your religious beliefs? -.200 .446 -.047 .653How much do you believe it's alright to get a divorce if things are not working out? -.233 .565 -.045 .681How much do you believe that if a couple works hard at making their marriage succeed and still cannot get along, divorce is a viable option?

-.575 .567 -.113 .312

How much do you believe that when you agree to get married, you are morally bound to stay married? .092 .541 .019 .865

* p < .05

MORAL COMMITMENT:Partner contract

Questions B SE B β pWould you feel bad about getting a divorce because you promised your partner that you would stay with him or her forever?

.727 .601 .134 .227

How much do you feel you could never leave your partner because he or she needs you too much? -.571 .479 -.107 .235

If you were ever to want a divorce, how difficult would it be to tell your partner? -1.59 .629 -.205 .012*How much do you believe you could never leave your partner because you would feel guilty about letting him or her down?

1.00 .517 .191 .054*

* p < .05

MORAL COMMITMENT:Consistency values

Questions B SE B β pHow much do you believe that whenever you promise to do something, you should see it through? -2.36 1.04 -.225 .024*

How much do you believe it's important to stand by what you believe in? -1.82 1.35 -.128 .180

How much do you feel that you should always finish what you start? 1.58 .897 .193 .078How much do you believe that even when things get hard, you should do the things you have promised to do? .101 1.08 .011 .926

* p < .05

RELIGIOSITY

Variable B SE B β p

Religiosity -.493 2.419 -.018 .839

* p < .05

SO THEN…

•Women were significantly less likely to expect to engage in extramarital sex if they:

• felt morally obligated to a partner• if they valued consistency

•Values about relationship dissolution had no effect on infidelity expectations

DISCUSSION

•Previous research has found that religion lowers risk of infidelity

• Moral commitment might serve as a mediator

•Moral obligations to a partner (rather than God), as well as consistency values may account for the association between religiosity and infidelity expectations

•religiosity may in fact protect against infidelity, while not significantly impacting expectations of infidelity

DISCUSSION cont’d

•Practitioners:• Can help protect couples from infidelity by

strengthening each partner’s feelings of obligation toward their spouse and by enhancing their consistency values

Acknowledgements