Trust and Commitment in Maintaining Marriage among Teachers in Commuting Marriage in Kota Kinabalu Sabah

Abstract

Long-distance marriages are commonly performed by dual-career couples particularly teachers. This study aimed to measure the relationship between trust and commitment with maintenance of marriage among teachers who living in commuter marriages. This study was conducted on 110 teachers around Kota Kinabalu Sabah from secondary and primary schools. The research design was a quantitative study using a set of questionnaires to get feedback from respondents. The Dyadic Trust Scale (DTS) (Larzelere & Huston, 1981), The Investment Model Scale (IMS) (Rusbult, Martz & Agnew, 1998), Relationship Maintenance Scale (RMS) (Chonody, Killian, Gabb & Dunk-West, 2017) were used to measure the variables involved. The results showed that trust and commitment are positively related to marriage maintenance. The implications of this study are for teachers to acknowledge that trust and commitment play an important role in their marriage. Keyword: Communal Marriage, Love, Teachers, Job Mobility Introduction Commuting marriage (CM) also known as long distance relationships have become increasingly common since the beginning of the Information Age in the United States (Ladd, 2007; Canary & Dainton, 2003). It is becoming increasingly popular among couples pursuing dual careers. It also commonly occurs for some teachers who have a spouse who lives far away. Commuter marriages usually occur when two couples have their own jobs but in different places or away from each other. Due to job mobility, the couple’s occupational pursuits have created a need for many romantically involved couples to be geographically separated (Arditti & Kaufmann, 2004). According to Gerstel and Gross (1982), commuting lifestyle among marriage couples are where couples maintain separate residences in two geographic areas at least three nights a week. Usually, the couples will meet at a specific times such as weekend or holiday and be apart again separate again after spending a few days together. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 0 , No. 12, 2020, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2020 HRMARS 747 Commuting marriage (CM) has been defined in several ways. As Canary and Dainton (2003) defined CM depends on how partners perceive their relationship to be long-distance or not. The consideration based on whether or not they can see each other as much as they like because of distance. Some partner view their marriage as a long-distance because they cannot see each other every day, or that means they do not live in the same house but in the same area. However, some partner consider their marriage as a long-distance because they living far away due to distance. Stafford (2005) simply defined commuting marriage as they live in a city or town different from their partners. In long-distance marriages, the challenge faced by the couple is to maintain the relationship. This is because factors that remain separate from each other tend to challenge the level of trust in each other. An individual cannot physically see his or her partner but only communicates via telephone conversation. According to Dainton and Aylor (2001), physical distance somehow facilitates relational stability for those who occasionally see each other face-to-face, but physical distance combined with lack of face-to-face interaction may have a negative effect on relationship. Trust is considered an important aspect of marriage, especially for those who live far from each other (Simpson, 2007). Without trust, the relationship will not functioning well and is hesitant to invest in the relationship. According to Dewi and Sudhana (2013), living apart between spouses leads to easily misunderstanding and distrust of each other. This is because distance creates constraints in communication. Meanwhile, Helgeson (1994) stated that most long-distance marriage couples believe their relationship will not last long. This is because, the difficulty of meeting each other makes it easier for the couple to grow up emotionally and tend to doubt their partner (Le & Agnew, 2001). Trust is a dynamic process. Although spouses have built their trust and are confident that their level of trust will not change, their trust may decline only because of distance (Asif & St. Saim, 2018). This issue remains a concern in the studies of marital relationships for couples who living apart (Asif & St. Saim, 2018). Meanwhile, Wieselquist, Rusbult, Foster and Agnew (1999) proposed that the change in trust related to commitment between couples. Individuals come to trust their partner when they are committed to them even though they live far from each other. Individual commitments are often sought from their spouse such as living expenses or telephone communication. Also, their roles and responsibilities are much more burdensome because they do not face and bear them together. This kind of commitment plays an important role in the maintenance of marriage. When commitment changes, individuals are more likely to question their spouse, which may lead to mistrust and damage the relationship. So, that is why the other challenge that couples face when living separately is their commitment to each other. Commitment in marriage couples usually referred to house chores, living expenses or meeting their needs (Rhoades, Stanley & Markman, 2009). But, different with marriage couple who living separately because of dual-income or career. Their form of commitment inherent in the marriage relationship is difficult to fill. This is because, some commitment can be fulfilled only if the couple resides together within the specified period before returning to the long-distance relationship (Nur Kholisoh, 2018). How are couples committed to their marriages to maintain marital relationships when they are International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 0 , No. 12, 2020, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2020 HRMARS 748 geographically separated? Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate relationship maintenance through trust and commitment among teachers living as commuter marriages. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are 1. To investigate the relationship between trust and marriage maintenances among teachers in commuting marriage. 2. To investigate the relationship between commitment and marriage maintenances among teachers in commuting marriage. Methodology a. Study Design Quantitative method using survey-questionnaire was used in this study. The study design was selected because it is appropriate to look at the relationship between variables (Fischer, Boone & Neumann, 2014). In this study, we investigate the relationship between trust and commitment with marriage maintenance. b. Respondent and Location of the Study The respondents of this study involved teachers in commuting marriage. A total of 110 teachers were recruited using purposive sampling techniques. The sampling technique was used as it is appropriate to obtain a sample of studies that have the characteristics specified in a study (Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2011). As in this study, the priority feature has been set was the teacher who is in a commuting marriage with partner. The study areas were primary and secondary schools around Kota Kinabalu Sabah. c. Instruments Three sets of questionnaires were used to measure each of the variables represented. Trust variable was measured using The Dyadic Trust Scale (DTS) (Larzelere & Huston, 1981). DTS is a short-form questionnaire consisting 8 items measuring trust with a one-factor model. Meanwhile, commitment was measured using The Investment Model Scale (IMS) (Rusbult, Martz & Agnew, 1998). An instrument consisting of 15 items was used to assess the degree to which individuals are committed to value their relationships. The dependent variable of relationship maintenance was assessed using Relationship Maintenance Scale (RMS) (Chonody, Killian, Gabb & Dunk-West, 2017). RMS consists of eight single factors to investigate the degree of effort individuals spend to maintain their relationships. d. Procedure The researcher obtained permission from the Ministry of Education in Malaysia and the Sabah Education Department to conduct a study on school teachers. The duration of consent granted to conduct the study on the target respondents was 6 months (April 1 to September 2, 2019). International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 0 , No. 12, 2020, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2020 HRMARS 749 After receiving a permission letters from Ministry of Education Malaysia and the Sabah Education Department, the researcher conducted a simple rapport with the Headmaster of each school visited to identify the teachers who were living in a commuting marriage. Based on the information received, the researcher left a set of questionnaires. The time given to respondents to complete a set of questionnaires was one week. e. Data Analysis The data were analyzed descriptively to identify the background of respondents. The hypotheses of the study was tested using correlation method. The IBM SPSS program was used to analyze the study data. Result and Discussion a. Respondents Background Information Table 1 Background Information among Teachers in Commuting Marriage in Kota Kinabalu Sabah ___________________________________________________________________________ Frequencies (N) Percentages (%) ___________________________________________________________________________ Gender Male 44 40 Female 66 60 First Marriage Respondent Yes 94 85.5 No 16 14.5 Partner Yes 80 72.7 No 30 27.3 Duration of Commuting Marriage Below 1 year 25 22.7 1 years 25 22.7 2 years 23 20.9 3 years 23 20.9 4 years 6 5.5 5 years 5 4.5 6 years 3 2.7 Intention to Divorce Yes 18 16.4 No 92 83.6 Academic Level of Respondents Diploma 19 17.3 Degree 91 82.7 International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 0 , No. 12, 2020, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2020 HRMARS 750 Academic Level of Partner SPM 12 10.9 ST