A Comparison of the Marital Obligations of Husbands and Wives towards Disabled Spouses during their Married Life

This study has been conducted to compare the marital obligations of husbands and wives towards disabled spouses during their married life. The sample includes 60 physically-impaired married men or women who referred to the medical centers of MS Society, the rehabilitation centers affiliated with the Association of Spinal Cord Injuries and the rehabilitation centers affiliated with the Welfare Organization in the east of Tehran and had been disabled at least three years after their marriage. The members of the sample were selected on a non-random basis from among the disabled patients who had the required characteristics. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire related to marital obligations.The results revealed that the rate of women’s fulfillment of marital commitment to their disabled husbands is higher than that of men’s and the difference is statistically significant (p = 0.00). Also, such factors as length of marriage with p = 0.02 and education level with p = 0.00 are directly related to the rate of marital commitment fulfillment. Another finding is that disabled men’s satisfaction with life is higher than that of women’s and the difference is statistically significant (p = 0.02).