Relationship Quality Among Married Indian Couples: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Background Indian marriages have traditionally been understood as fulfilling religious commitments, forming alliances between families and fostering companionship between spouses. However, relationship quality in such marriages is shaped by structural and cultural factors that Western models of marriage, which consider only the dyadic relationship, do not account for. This narrative review examines relationship quality among married Indian couples across three themes: caste and joint-family structure; communication and conflict; and intimacy, identity and sexual satisfaction, to understand how relationship quality is shaped beyond the couple. Summary The review draws on attachment theory, social exchange theory and family systems theory, as well as on indigenous Indian thought and the feminist bargaining-power framework of Sen and Agarwal, alongside broader cultural and philosophical perspectives. It considers how structure and individual agency combine in the process of Indian marriage, drawing on narrative, empirical, theoretical, economic and philosophical sources, as well as Indian legal decisions. Caste and kinship structure a wife’s bargaining power and household authority before dyadic interactions occur; communication and conflict are shaped by joint-family privacy rather than the dyad alone; and emotional intimacy and identity shape relationship quality, while sexual satisfaction remains comparatively unexplored in the Indian context. The review proposes two original theoretical constructs, active endurance, which extends Das’s notion of endurance, and the aspiration–structure gap, to capture patterns evident in the literature but not yet formally theorised. It also notes neurobiological evidence, namely hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysregulation in chronic marital distress and oxytocin’s modulation of couple conflict, which warrants investigation in Indian samples. Key Message Therapy and policy addressing relationship quality in Indian marriages need to account for structural barriers, such as caste and household bargaining power, rather than focusing only on communication skills and attitudes, if they are to meaningfully improve relationship quality in this context.