The Relationship between Resources and Spousal Power Relations: A Comparative Analysis of Migrant Bukhara Women in Israel and the United States, and Israeli Women of Ashkenazi Origin

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between resources advantage and marital power relations among migrant Bukhara women. An additional purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of cultural context, gender-role attitudes and marital quality on the relationship between resources advantage and marital power relations. The resources tested are the economic resource, the socio-economic status resource, the social resource, the mental strength resource and the sexual resource. The marital power relations (dependent variable) were examined using two measures: division of household tasks and spouse decision-making. For this purpose, a comparison was made among four groups of women who are on the continuum between traditional and modern: migrant Bukhara women in Israel, women in mixed marriages (in which one of the spouses is of Bukhara origin), migrant Bukhara women in the United States, as well as women of Ashkenazi origin.

The theoretical infrastructure of this study is based on the classic resource theory (Blood & Wolfe, 1960). In addition, it is based on the resource theory in cultural-value context (Rodman, 1972), which is a modification of the classic resource theory. Rodman's approach was examined in two ways: through an examination of a traditional sector versus a modern sector as well as through the participants' attitudes towards equality of gender roles, and this is the innovation of our study. In an attempt to expand the resource approach in a cultural-value context, and in order to deepen the study of the contribution of resource advantage to marital power relations, a new approach is being proposed: The resources approach in an emotional context and a theoretical development has been added based on the explanation of marital power relations by the variable marital quality.

The study was conducted using a quantitative method, and the research sample consisted of 252 married women who were divided into four groups on the continuum between traditional and modern: 51 women of Bukhara origin in Israel (whose spouses are also of Bukhara origin), 38 women in mixed marriages (in which one of the spouses is of Bukhara origin), 55 women of Bukhara origin in the United States (whose spouses are also of Bukhara origin), and 108 women of Ashkenazi origin (whose spouses are also of Ashkenazi origin). The research data was collected from October 2020 to June 2021 through structured questionnaires that were distributed through a link to a website established for the purpose of the research. The collection was carried out in two ways: directly by the researcher, or through contacts who distributed the questionnaires. The sample used the snowball method. The research tools included questionnaires that were used in previous studies.

All the research questionnaires were filled out by the research participants and they referred to their experiences and perceptions of marital relations, but since the processes examined in the study are dyadic processes and the spouses' perceptions are also important, in two of the questionnaires (a questionnaire on attitudes towards equality in gender roles and a questionnaire on the marital quality) the research participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire also on the basis of their assessment of the perceptions of their spouses.

The research hypotheses dealt with four clusters: differences among the four research groups in the marital power relations; Connections between the research participants' advantage in resources and the marital power relations (the division of work at home and decision-making); The resource approach in a cultural-value context was examined through the moderating effect of the sector (the research group) and the gender attitudes of both the research participants and their spouses (according to their assessment) on the relationship between an advantage in resources and the marital power relations; And the resources approach in the emotional context was tested through a moderating effect of the marital quality variable on the relationship between an advantage in resources and the marital power relations, which was also tested according to the assessment of the research participants as well as according to their assessment of the perceptions of their spouses.

In general, the findings were only partially confirmed. Thus, as for the hypothesis that women of Ashkenazi origin will report more equal power relations in marriage compared to migrant Bukhara women in the other three research groups, the findings partially support the research hypothesis. As for the marital power relations in the indicator of the division of labor at home, the research findings confirm the hypothesis and it was found that women of Ashkenazi origin do less housework compared to the research participants in the other three groups. As for the power relations in marriage in the decision-making index, the findings partially confirm the hypothesis, and it was found that women of Ashkenazi origin make more decisions in the work factor compared to women in mixed marriages, and make more decisions in the sexual relations factor compared to migrant Bukhara women in Israel.

As for the examination of the relationship between the research participants' advantage in resources and the marital power relations, in the present study partial support was found for the classic resource approach (Blood & Wolf, 1960). Thus, a negative correlation was found between the advantage of the research participants in the economic resource and the index of the division of labor at home and a positive correlation was found between the advantage in the sexual resource and the performance of housework. Also, positive correlations were found between the advantage in the social resource, the socioeconomic status resource and the mental resilience resource and the decision-making power.

In addition, regarding the contribution of the sector and the gender attitudes to the moderation of the relationship between an advantage in resources and the two indicators of marital power relations, the findings show partial support for the resource approach in a cultural-value context (Rodman, 1972), mainly on the basis of the hypothesis of moderation through sector. Thus, it was found that regarding the index of the division of labor at home, the hypothesis was only partially confirmed regarding the advantage in the resource of mental resilience and only among the liberal sector (women of Ashkenazi origin). As for the second index of marital power relations, the decision-making index, it was found that the liberal sector moderates the relationship between an advantage in the social resource and this index. Thus, as women of Ashkenazi origin enjoy a greater advantage in the social resource, they make more decisions. As for the contribution of gender attitudes to the moderation of the relationship between an advantage in resources and the marital power relations, the hypothesis was partially confirmed only in the index of the division of labor at home and in regards to the advantage in the resource of mental resilience. Thus, in cases where the gender attitudes of the research participants are egalitarian, the more they enjoy an advantage in the resource of mental resilience, the less housework they do. As for the resources approach in an emotional context and the contribution of the marital quality variable to the moderation of the relationship between an advantage in resources and the marital power relations, the research findings indicate that, unlike women, the husbands' perceptions of the marital quality (according to the evaluation of female participants study) moderate the relationship between an advantage in the sexual resource only and the marital power relations in the index of the division of labor at home. That is, in cases where the men are satisfied with the marriage, the power in the marriage may sometimes lean towards the women even when they lack power (mainly in the sexual resource).

The contribution of the present study is expressed in several aspects. In the theoretical aspect, the unique contribution of the present study is expressed in the addition of the variable the marital quality to the research model as a variable that moderates the relationship between an advantage in resources and the marital power relations, which constitutes another pillar in the classical theory of resources and the theory of resources in a cultural-value context, and is intended to examine the approach to resources from a new angle-an approach to the resources in an emotional context. The empirical contribution of the research is expressed in that it examines four groups of women who are on the continuum between traditional and modern: migrant Bukhara women in Israel, women in mixed marriages, migrant Bukhara women in the United States, and women of Ashkenazi origin in Israel. Placing the four groups in the current research model allows for a re-examination of the resource approach in a cultural-value context that examines traditional communities in a modern context.

In the practical aspect, the findings of the present study may help therapists understand in a deeper manner the dynamics of marital power relations among Bukhara migrants by referring to the advantage in resources for marital power relations in the cultural-value context and the contribution of the variable marital quality to these relationships, and to optimize marital therapy while responding to the needs of traditional community living in a modern society. From this, based on the findings, therapeutic tools can be developed mainly for couples belonging to the Bukhara community and couples in mixed marriages.

As for the limitations of the study, it should be noted that due to the limitations of the sample and the difficulties of accessibility to the study population, it cannot be claimed that the sample represents the population of Bukhara migrants in Israel. Another limitation stems from the method of data collection for the spouses of the research participants using the proxy method, that is, by evaluating the women's perceptions of their husbands, and as a result, there may be certain biases regarding the spouses' attitudes perceptions and their impact on the marital quality. In follow-up studies it is recommended to take into account these limitations.