The effectiveness of genogram analysis in enhancing marital satisfaction

• Main Author: Palackal, Treesa, SH
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1995
• Subjects: Intergenerational relations; Marital psychotherapy; Dysfunctional families; Family counseling; Interpersonal relations; Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/738
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study investigated the effectiveness of genogram analysis in enhancing marital satisfaction of couples.The study used the quasi-experimental design. From those who obtained average maturity rating on the Omnibus Personality Inventory, 12 couples were equally and randomly assigned to either control or experimental group. After administering MSS as the pretest, the researcher facilitated the genogram analysis of the individual couples of the experimental group. After treatment, the post test and 2 months later, the post test were administered to the experimental and control groups. A significant observation was that family patterns in terms of structure, function, and relationships were transmitted from generation to generation.The profile of the experimental group indicated that before the genogram analysis, the husbands, wives, and the couples were dissatisfied with their relationship. However, after the treatment, they were moderately satisfied. To determine whether the enhancement of marital satisfaction of the experimental group differed significantly from the control group, the Mann-Whitney U Test was used. There was a significant disparity between the control group and the experimental group in their difference from pretest to post test and post test to delayed post test (p0.001). The stability of the result was confirmed by the profile of the couples (moderately satisfied in marital relationship) and in the Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Test for husbands(z 0.31p.05) and wives(z=1.47p.05) of the experimental group in post test and delayed post test. Again using the Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed Ranks Test it was found that there were no sex differences in gain scores on marital satisfaction (pretest to post test, -.84p.05 and post test to delayed post test -.31p.05). In conclusion, structural, functional, and relational family patterns which were the sources of conflicts in couples were transmitted from generation to generation and that genogram analysis was a therapeutic technique for enhancing marital satisfaction.