In today’s modern marriages, husbands and wives are equal, so the responsibilities of earning a living and caring for children tend to be shared. “The condition of being a working couple in urban areas is a condition that is prone to stress, such as work stress, childcare, marriage relationships, and other daily responsibilities,” said Pingkan C.B Rumondor, when presenting her dissertation on “The Role of External Stress, Dyadic Coping, Attachment and Gender Role Ideology in Predicting Marital Satisfaction of Urban Highly Educated Working Couples.”
According to Pingkan, this phenomenon is important to study, especially regarding important factors that can help couples manage stress and maintain marital satisfaction. This study aims to examine the role of dyadic coping (handling stress with a partner) and attachment (emotional attachment to a partner) in protecting marital satisfaction from the negative impact of external stress, he said, at an open doctoral promotion session held by the Psychological Science Study Program, Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia on Monday (21/07).
The participants in this study were highly educated urban working couples with traditional and non-traditional gender role ideologies. The results found some interesting facts that dyadic coping and attachment are important factors that affect marital satisfaction. Insecure attachment is inversely related to marital satisfaction, but does not act as a moderator that protects marital satisfaction from the negative effects of external stress.
“Therefore, the ability of couples to manage stress together needs to be continuously developed to protect marital satisfaction from external stress. In addition, marital satisfaction is also influenced by the cultural context that shapes husband and wife’s beliefs about the division of roles based on gender,” said Pingkan, who is also a lecturer at Bina Nusantara University (Binus).
Pingkan’s research can serve as a foundation for the development of stress management interventions with couples by taking into account the specificities of gender role ideology in highly educated working couples in urban areas. This finding reminds counselors/therapists working with working couples to provide education on the importance of developing dyadic coping skills, such as providing support, discussing problem solutions together, and listening with empathy.
Sidang promosi doktor tersebut diketuai Dekan F.Psikologi UI, Dr. Bagus Takwin, M.Hum., Psikolog, dengan Promotor Dr. Adriana Soekandar, M.S., Psikolog., dan Ko-Promotor Drs. R. Urip Purwono, M.Sc., Ph.D., Psikolog. Tim penguji diketuai oleh Prof. Dr. Guritnaningsih, Psikolog., dengan anggota terdiri dari Prof. Dr. Sofia Retnowati, M.S., Psikolog., Dr. Juneman Abraham, S.Psi, M.Si., Dr. Yudiana Ratna Sari M.Si, Psikolog., dan Dr. Imelda Ika Dian Oriza, M.Psi., Psikolog.
