The fabric of commitment: How gender, religion, and marriage duration shape Thai marriages

Commitment, a central element of Sternberg's theory of love, plays a key role in shaping marital quality and emotional well-being.This study investigates gender differences in marital commitment, considering demographic factors that may account for such variation.The sample included 104 Thai heterosexual married couples, with equal representation of husbands and wives.Participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling techniques.Each participant independently completed an online survey assessing romantic passion and demographic characteristics.Gender differences in romantic passion were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test.The results indicated a statistically significant difference in commitment levels between husbands and wives (Z = -3.379,p < .001),suggesting that the expression of marital commitment is gendered.Furthermore, religious affiliation and length of marriage were identified, through the analysis of Mann-Whitney U Test, as significant factors influencing commitment.The findings confirm that commitment is a multifaceted construct central to marital quality, yet its manifestation varies significantly by gender.The results underscore the role of cultural and contextual factors, specifically religion and marital duration, in shaping attitudes toward commitment, which encompasses responsibilities, sacrifice, and relationship maintenance within Thai marriages.