Destination marriage? The diagnostic role of rituals in dating relationships

The decision to marry is complex, often with seemingly innocuous events impacting a partner’s marriage eligibility. Engaging in rituals is one area where couples have the opportunity to see their partners in a new light as well as assess commitment. Although rituals have impactful roles in married couples, there is a dearth of research when it comes to ritual activity in dating couples. Data from a random sample of dating couples was used to explore how rituals act as facilitators or barriers to commitment to wed. Results showed that celebration and tradition rituals played a contextual role in magnifying the importance of three normative relationship features, that of family interactions, relationship awareness, and conflict management. Experiencing these relationship features during a ritual time highlighted the uncertainty inherent in determining marriage eligibility with a current partner and enhanced the information gathering process.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2019

Author dc:creator

• Maniotes, Christopher R.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ogolsky, Brian G
• Hardesty, Jennifer L

• commitment
• dating
• marriage
• rituals
• uncertainty
• information gathering

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2019 Christopher Maniotes

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105705

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/105705