Conflicting messages: Marriage in the 1980s

Abstract

The ferment of social change and the family in the past 4 decades is seen to be related to a single dimension with self-sacrifice at one extreme and self-interest at theother. Marriage in the 1980s is characterized by conflicting messages on this dimension.Specific issues are presented which illustrate the conflicting messages that couples receive and their difficulty in arriving at a balance between suppression of self and personal fulfilment. Areas considered are family law, the meaning of marriage, divorce, personality development, sexuality and role definition. © 1987 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.