GRADE 7 HERITAGE STUDIES 19 December 2023

Marital relationships - causes of marital disputes and possible solutions

Disputes are disagreements over something.

Spouses or married people sometimes have disputes.

* Some causes of disputes are:

Finances, infidelity, external interference, childlessness and cultural differences

* Here is how they causes disputes in couples.

1. Finances
- finances refers to money.
- it can be absent or abundant in a marriage.
- the absence of money may bring poverty and arguments in a marriage.
- abundance of it may result in misuse leading to arguments on priorities.
* Some spouses are not transparent when it comes to how much they earn or get after
doing some work.
- this results in arguments.

Possible solutions
* Spouses should be open and honest with each other
* They also should plan together to avoid misuse of money.

2. Infidelity
* This is when cheating of some sort is taking place
* A wife or husband can engage in a sexual relationship with someone else.
* As a result spouses fight or divorce and in some cases even murder each other.

Possible solutions
* Married couples should create time to be with each other
* Situations which tempt married people to engage in marital infidelity should be
avoided.
* Situations like excess drinking, befriending the opposite sex, being alone with the
opposite sex for longer periods, always on the phone without creating time for
spouses should be avoided.

3. External interference
- This is when the extended family like auntd, cousins, uncles, brothers, sisters and
even parents get too involved in your marriage.
* They are allowed to bring ideas but they should leave the married people to choose
what they want.
* For example: a spouse may act on advice from friends or relatives without
consulting his/her spouse
* This leads to arguments.

Possible solutions
* spouses should make their relationship their top priority.
* This means that they should consider each other's feelings and likes before acting on
advice.
* Spouses should make time to discuss what they want so that they won't act on other
people's views putting theirs aside.
* They should learn to consult one another before making decisions

4. Childlessness
* This is caused by infertility of some sort.
* Infertility is when the married couple fail to have children.
* This may result in divorce, polygamy or infidelity
* All these cause disputes in couples.
Possible solutions
* Married couples should get medical help to deal with infertility
* Married couples should learn to love one another so that they can seek help together
without accusations

5. Cultural differences
* Culture is the way people live.
* Family cultures differ from family to family.
* When people get married they come from different families to start a family of their
own
“This means that they have different views on different ways of life
* If these differences are not managed properly they cause disputes.

Possible solutions
* Spouses should accept their differences and learn to live with them.
* They should respect each other's views
* They should love and care for each other's concerns and feelings

* After the study above, attempt the following questions

1. ______ is one of the causes of divorce in Zimbabwe. (Honesty, Respect,

Faithfulness, Infidelity)
2. What two things makes the use of money difficult in a marriage?
3. Suggest two ways of avoiding divorce in a marriage.
4. State two causes of disputes in a marriage.
5. What is childlessness?
6. Suggest one possible solution to childlessness.
7. Who can interfere in a marriage that can lead to disputes
8. How can spouses experiencing cultural differences avoid disputes?