| The term globalization is widely used to describe the current state of the world. Despite the emphasis on global interconnectedness, little has been written about the unique challenges of international marriages. As a result, this research was conducted to investigate the marital values and satisfaction of males and females in domestic (natives of the U.S.) and international (one is a native of the U.S. and the other is foreign born) marriages. The Characteristics of Marriage Inventory was used to gather information on marital values and satisfaction on a 6-point Likert scale through an online quantitative survey. This was an exploratory study that focused on marital values and satisfaction along the pathways of love, loyalty, and family values. A total of 80 participants were involved in data collection (41 males, 39 females). An analysis of marriage type resulted in a significant outcome, indicating that marriage type played a role in marriage values. More specifically, the mean family values score for American participants with American spouses (domestic marriage) was significantly higher than the mean family values score for foreign-born participants with American spouses (in an international marriage). However, there was no significant difference in marriage satisfaction. Furthermore, an analysis of gender resulted in a non-significant effect on the combined marital satisfaction variable, but indicated a significant main effect on loyalty. The mean loyalty score for male participants was significantly lower than the mean loyalty score for female participants. As a result, it is important for further research to understand what loyalty means to men. In addition, psychology must further explore the values of the international married population and take into account the context of a marriage. |
