Transformative Processes: Some Sociological Questions

Exploring concepts such as sacrifice, forgiveness, sanctification, and commitment as control variables that can emerge spontaneously in marital interactions and that can transform or regulate the quality of marriage seems, at least at first glance, incongruent with the sociological perspective on marital success. Sociologists, especially in recent decades, have focused primarily on how structural forces, cultural ideologies, and institutionalized inequalities influence the likelihood that people will marry and stay married. For example, although the overall rate of marriage in the United States has remained high, sociologists point out that marriage and divorce rates fluctuate with major economic transitions. The divorce rate in the United States more than tripled between the late 186Os and 1910 (Cherlin, 1992) as the nation underwent a tumultuous transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy. The most recent surge in the divorce rate occurred between 1960 and 1980, during the height of an economic restructuring characterized by the demise of the industrial economy, the rise of an information and services economy, and a massive increase in employment among women. Major economic transitions often coincide with the creation of new cultural and marital ideologies; in fact, both of the above eras witnessed revolutions that championed greater individualism, freedom, and equality. Over the course of the twentieth century, these ideals have increasingly infused marriages. Although traditional marriages were based on religion, patriarchy, economic dependence, and procreation, couples today usually base their marriages on love, free choice, companionship, self-fulfillment, and equality. Marriages that consistently fail to meet these expectations often end in divorce. A second major focus in sociology has been on how social inequalities, especially those based on race, class, and gender, shape access to marriage and marital satisfaction. Families of color, for example, especially those historically exploited for cheap labor, often received little institutional support for developing strong marriages. For many, the demands of work took priority over marriage and family life and intruded on the privacy and sanctity of domestic life (Baca Zinn, 2007). Many racial minorities and poor people today hold marriage in high regard, but believe they lack sufficient resources to marry (Edin, 2000; Harknett & McLanahan, 2004), and their high rates of divorce seem to confirm their belief (Cherlin, 1992; Lawson & Thompson, 1999). Traditional marital arrangements have also been undermined by the growing participation of women in the labor market and in the political arena. This participation has led many women to demand a more equitable sharing of housework and child care by their male partners, and their economic independence has made them less likely to tolerate unhappy marriages. Thus, sociologists have examined marriage and divorce rates primarily within the context of shifting economic and cultural forces, noting that these forces have resulted in new marital expectations, and have emphasized that institutionalized inequalities impact rates of marriage and marital success. Although this perspective differs from the current article's focus on internal marital dynamics, research by psychologists and sociologists often overlaps and is complementary. Most sociologists, for example, would agree that studies of marital conflict are of limited value in predicting marital success; indeed, family sociology textbooks frequently cite research showing that conflict-habituated marriages can be quite stable (Cuber & Haroff, 1966). In addition, the sociological emphasis on the macrolevel factors that influence marital success complements the psychological focus on the importance of human agency and marital interactions. Jessie Bernard, for example, noted that commitment was fundamental to the very concept of marriage as it recognized that couples would inevitably have to cope with marital discord (Bernard, 1972). …