The family is given great importance as it forms the basis of both the individual's spiritual development and happiness thereby influencing a society’s cohesion and advancement. A family maybe defined as a household of people related by blood or marriage. More specifically, we can define a family as husband and wife with or without children, living together in the same dwelling. When taking such a concept into account, a psychological analysis may prove to be fundamental for the growth and development of a family.

1) Maturity required in married life
Marriage is an important responsibility requiring a certain degree of maturity if it is to be successful. Family life, the natural corollary of marriage, is a great responsibility which demands great maturation to be successful. Maturity can be considered from its psychological, physical, economical perspectives which shall be dealt in detail below:

• Psychological Maturity:
Psychological maturity is much more complex and harder to measure than physical maturity. It is also much more important. It is well accepted that individuals go through fairly predictable and identifiable stages of growth. Psychological development grows out of and is related to the physical development of the individual. A psychologically mature person would have greater facility using all the hierarchical levels of the cognitive domain: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Self regulation- the ability to set goals, self observe, self-assess and self-reinforce- is a key trait needed for successful life, learning and marriage. People with a high level of self-efficacy learn, grow and achieve more. They accept challenge, see themselves as capable, invest a lot of effort, use effective strategies to achieve their goals and persist in the face of difficulty. Assuming personal responsibility for your growth and development is part of maturity.

• Physical Maturity:
Physical maturity is generally reached by the mid to late teens. Statistical data supports the hypothesis that the older you are when you get married, the more likely the marriage will be successful, that is, to last longer and be more satisfying to the couple. Being able to control your physical desires, passions and impulses could be considered another aspect of physical maturity.

• Economic Maturity:
Getting married, although it defines maturity within the family, is synchronous with the attainment of maturity in the economic sphere. A mature man knows how to hold a job, handle money with responsibility and take care of the needs of his wife and family. A failure to develop economic maturity means that young men often float from job to job, and take years to "find themselves" in terms of career and vocation. Slothfulness, laziness and economic carelessness are marks of immaturity. A mature man knows how to earn, manage and respect money. The ideology of material acquisitiveness and consumerism, whereby one's identity is premised on material possessions and hoarding, also produces strain in a family. A Christian man understands the danger that comes from the love of money, and fulfils his responsibility as a Christian steward.

The higher the level of development the couples have reached, the better the chance for a happy and successful marriage. It is possible to be developed in one area but not the others. The later and higher levels depend on and are affected by the lower levels. Many people who are physically mature lack psychological maturity and some who are psychologically and intellectually mature are limited in social development, and those developed in all the other areas may not possess well-developed moral-volitional capacities. Achieving a successful marriage and spiritual maturity requires effort, sacrifice, wisdom and self-abnegation. Trustworthiness and truthfulness are the bedrock of all positive relationships and spirituality. Some agreeable level of equity and justice is necessary for a successful marriage. Creating equitable relationships requires maturity of a high order. You and your partner being able to do this is an indication of maturity.

2) Masculine-Feminine Psychology

There are meaningful gender differences in communication behavior among married couples. However, within each gender, there are individual meaningful differences and some of these differences probably affect relationship behavior. The field of individual differences point to a vast array of variables that could be relevant for understanding relationship behavior. The following is an overview made by certain renowned psychologists to assign the concept of relatedness to the feminine principle and the concept of discrimination and detachment to the masculine principle.

• Masculine Psychology:
Generally, men crave for respect and admiration from those around them and want their manliness to be recognized and accepted. They desire for praise and acclaim even though they do not posses the aforementioned manly virtues.

• Feminine Psychology:
Most of the women in our society consider their husbands to be heroes and like to be controlled by them. Even though most of the so-called modern women of the 21st century who are independent, equipped with jobs, and have more freedom than their counterparts of earlier times majority of them still like to remain under their husbands control and care. But, we may also see exceptions where a few immature women try to exercise control over their husbands and ‘enslave them with a bit and bridle. It is generally considered that women are emotionally high and a bit low on the intellectual level. But, a comprehensive survey conducted among more than 3000 women by the world renowned psychologist Carl Jung show that women when compared to men are more stubborn and hard-hearted. The ones that exhibit frailty, helplessness and weaknesses are the ones that have tough hearts. And so it is a mistake to consider women to be creatures of timidity and frailty. A woman who tends to be talkative in nature is said to have a very low intellectual capacity. A woman of beauty is a threat to life; every life. A woman who is beautiful by her body, soul and character is said to be the rarest of gems.

This theory may prove to be right in the case of a glamorous man who pays much attention to his outer looks. It may be suggested that his polished exterior may be a mask to hide his intellectual deficiency. Another psychologist has suggested when comparing masculine and feminine psychology, a man on one hand takes a decision after much thought and reasoning whereas a woman takes the same decision effortlessly based on her emotions, feelings and instincts. These arguments are the opinions of psychologists, and many don t accept these ‘facts as these may not be true in all cases. The mental nature of both man and woman develop and evolve according to the progress of the era and society in which he/she lives in. A successful marriage depends on the understanding and sharing of the differences of both partners in an attempt to adjust and comprehend these variables.

3) Personalities
Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations. The word "personality" originates from the Latin persona, which means mask. In the book Typology, Jung categorizes people into seven primary types of psychological function; of which two shall be discussed below:

• Introverts:
A person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings. Introverts tend to be very reserved, less outgoing, but are also marked by a richer inner world. They are not necessarily loners but they tend to have smaller circles of friends and are less likely to thrive on making new social contacts.

• Extroverts:
Extroverts tend to enjoy human interactions and to be enthusiastic, talkative, assertive, and gregarious. They take pleasure in activities that involve large social gatherings, such as parties, community activities, public demonstrations, and business or political groups. An extroverted person is likely to enjoy time spent with people and find less reward in time spent alone. They tend to be energized when around other people, and they are more prone to boredom when they are by themselves.

Recent studies have also shown that the physical structure tends to vary according to personality. In most cases, introverts have long, thin bodies whereas extroverts are short, and have round, plump bodies. It is quite rare to witness each of these traits completely in a single person, as most people are those which come in between these two types (Mezoverts). Both traits can be seen in variable amounts in both men and women, and can never be completely erased. But a marriage where both partners share their weaknesses and help each other to understand the other s weakness and problems and try to cope up with the other s shortcomings are bound to have a successful marriage.

4) Attitudes
The family constitutes “ the bedrock of the whole structure of human society". Attitudes and relationships developed in the family, when transformed to ever-wider circles of the community, can have a direct bearing on the order, peace, and wealth of an entire nation. Thus one s attitude plays a fundamental role in one s relationships. Throwing light on this matter further, Eric Berne who has been regarded as the father of Transactional Analysis, proposed four phenomena behind the transactions which have been given below:

i) "I'm Not OK, You're OK": The attitude which comprises of thoughts such as, “I m not good”, “my opinions are not good” but “You are good” and “your opinions are good.” People possessing this type of attitude are subjected to inferiority complex.

ii) "I'm OK, You're Not OK": This attitude is completely opposite to the first one. People with this attitude are subjected to superiority complex.

iii) "I'm Not OK, You're Not OK": These people are of the opinion that “you are not good and I m not good.” People with such an attitude tend to have a very negative view of themselves as well as the people around them.

iv) "I'm OK, You're OK": These people have the attitude, “I m good and you are good” and so their family life is certain to be good. People possessing such a mentality have a very positive outlook towards their lives and the world.

The Christian view of the family is best expressed in terms of the position of each individual member to each other to be equivalent to their relationship to God; and so one s attitude plays a vital role in one s personal relationships and one s total outlook and aim of life.

5) Ideal Husband-Wife relationship: An Outlook
After marriage, the husband has a lot of expectation from his wife and vice versa. But one s dreams and wishes rarely go hand in hand with the realities of life. A wife expects an ideal husband to love and protect her; security which arises from love. A husband views one s wife as an equal partner, he asks and understands her feelings and emotions, respects his wife and her opinions, caters to her needs and demands without herself asking so, avoids indulging in profane activities and relationships which may cause worry or concern for the wife.

It is said that, the husband is the head of the family whereas the wife is the neck. From this we come to understand that both the wife and husband have their own unique importance. Both of them carry the authority and primary responsibility for the family. The mother, as the "first educator of the child”, occupies the most important position during the early years of family life, responsible for the spiritual and material education of her children. She should "nurture the health of her children and guard them from disease". The mother has the right to be supported by her husband, while he has no such rights. The husband's primary responsibility is to "provide for and protect the family". Fatherhood is forfeited when a father fails to assume these responsibilities. The efforts of the parents to educate their son and daughter should be seen in the same light as educating God's children. The family provides a fertile ground to nurture children, the future adults, to love the Creator, to become spiritually minded, to "conform to the rules of good conduct," to acquires "all the graces and praiseworthy qualities of humankind," amongst other virtues

The need to constantly consider the "integrity of the family" and the importance of not transgressing the rights of any family member should also be emphasized. Each member of the household has prerogatives. If their rights and prerogatives are not maintained, it is impossible to sustain the unity of the family. All members of the family should have "mutual and complementary duties". Communication between members, planning the budget and strengthening spirituality also play an important role in family life. In modern society, a family which has a strong foundation contributes to the strength of both the Church and the country. Having a positive outlook to life and accepting the other s individuality and trying to cope with one s partner while strengthening one s spirituality; all leads to victory and success of a family.