A Study of Couple’s Cultural Capital, Marital Conflicts and Coping Strategies in Shiraz, Iran

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between couple's cultural capital and marital conflicts. The relationship between the intensity of marital conflicts and coping strategies with the couples' cultural capital was investigated. Due to the increase of women's cultural capital in recent decades, changes have also occurred in social relations inside and outside the family. Since marital conflicts are one of the most important causes of divorce, examining the quantity and type of cultural capital relationship and the marital conflicts can be very helpful in understanding changes in families.

 Methods and Data:

 The research method was survey. The statistical population included couples living in Shiraz with the age range of 15-64 years who had been married for at least one year. 375 couples who were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling completed the questionnaire. A cultural capital scale was developed and the questionnaire of ACECR was used to measure marital conflicts. 

The results show that the cultural capital of women and men are not significantly different. Although cultural capital has been associated with the severity of marital conflicts in some dimensions, the main relationship has been observed with the positive and negative strategies used to deal with conflict. Higher cultural capital leads to greater use of positive strategies and less use of negative strategies. In addition, husband's social capital and social status have been important in reducing the severity and use of negative strategies. 

The findings show that the marriages of couples in Shiraz are similar. The more educated the men and women are, the more capable they are of solving their problems.  It seems that in order to reduce and resolve marital conflicts, the cultural capital of the couple should be proportionate, with special attention being paid to empowering the husband in the family.

 Key Message:

 Increased cultural capital can create better families, but there must be a balance between men and women.