Psychoeducational Interventions on Conflict Resolution Styles among Individuals Involved in Commuter Marriages

Couples in commuter marriages who live apart face many challenges, such as having ineffective communications which lead to conflict. Couples who use a positive and constructive conflict resolution style, have a better chance of getting a better quality of marital life. This intervention aims to provide psychoeducation to participants in order to understand conflict resolution styles that can be applied when dealing with and resolving conflicts in commuter marriages. The evaluation of the intervention effect was carried out by comparing the knowledge and skill to the application of conflict resolution styles, before and after the intervention. After being given psychoeducation, it was found that 25 participants changed the resolution style they would use when experiencing conflict with their partner. While the other 5 participants still chose the same resolution style. In conclusion, through this psychoeducation, participants have new knowledge about various resolution styles that can be used, and according to the conflict conditions experienced by each partner.

Isolation and immunity within the family: Commuter marriages in Southeast Asia

This article examines the gendered subjectivities and family ideologies of commuter wives and commuter husbands in Southeast Asia, in relation to being part of bilateral households and multigeneration extended families. It emphasizes that, first, the understanding of gendered subjectivities should come from looking at femininities alongside masculinities, and second, despite criticisms, there is still value in using family ideology in examining family life that is consistently experiencing changes within the broader socio-political contexts. The article analyzes ethnographic accounts and in-depth interviews with rural families in Malaysia and the Philippines by engaging with the concepts of transient subjectivities and particular family ideology. While literature on commuter marriages sees the phenomenon as middle class, career driven, and temporary, the article reveals that the case is different for societies where jobs are almost constantly precarious and where couples do not have the luxury of time to settle for a transitory lifestyle. It proposes the concepts of ‘family isolation’ and ‘family immunity’ as a result of multiple gendered subjectivities and discusses their formation in line with the particular family ideologies that farming families in Southeast Asia adhere to.