Journal of Student Research 2014

Journal of Student Research

the spouses with their marital problems was beneficial. As she stated, “In the situations where I’ve been in meetings where the elders, they kind of give you options . . . they pretty much want to hear your side and your story then the guy’s side and his story.” There were two participants who reported equality within their marriage, but one of them reported she only received equality when they were alone. She expressed that when they are around the elders and relatives she has to “pretend” to play the “submissive” wife. This participant said she felt frustrated sometimes having to play this role of a submissive wife. It is evident participants are experiencing the psychological trait of “learned helplessness.” As Bargai and Shaley (2007) stated in their research, “learned helplessness is a trait resulted from repeated exposure to uncontrollable and aversive events.” The patriarchal society these Hmong women grew up in, and the cultural obligations they have to fulfill, is a contribution to their acceptance of their roles as Hmong wives. For instance, one participant concurred with the acceptance of the patriarchal society she lived in, “I feel like I don’t have any say in any kind of decisions. I just feel like it’s not fair, not fair for me and why should he get to do the things he want in life and I don’t . . . and I guess I just learned to accept it.” When the participants were asked about their thoughts on adolescent marriages at least five of them said they do not have the right to say what is right and wrong (they felt neutral about adolescent marriages). The other four participants immediately affirmed their disapproval of adolescent marriages, and one of the four participants even said, “I think it should be banned.” All nine participants did agree that getting married at a young age came with too many responsibilities, and these teens were not ready for that kind of commitment. The researcher also saw a connection with the participants who married before they turned 18. The reason these women married was to escape their unwanted situations in their home. According to Bartz and Nye (1970) a girl will marry early if she’s around tension or an unhappy environment, and it was evident that participants felt that way. For instance, a participant stated, “I’d say more than 50% why I got married was due to my family. I wanted to get away from my family so much as my mom is

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