An Exploratory Study of the Matrifocal Family in Myanmar

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the Myanmar family is characterized by features of matrifocality as well as to analyze whether there is female dominance in Myanmar .
The respondents in our sample were selected with non-probability sampling due to political situations in Myanmar, along with our limited budget. The sample for the study was drawn from respondents living in several areas in Myanmar, which may represent the regions with different geographic, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The total sample size was 545 respondents.
The findings are as follows. First, most of the respondents agreed to not only the stronger hierarchical relationships between parents and children but also the priority of family interests. Second, the bonds related to the female family members are stronger than the bonds related to the male family members . Third, mother’s relatives are regarded as more intimate family members. The respondents have received (and provided) economic and emotional support from the mother ‘s side, have visited and lived closer to the mother ‘s side. Fourth, over two-thirds of the respondents agreed that the mother not the father, has more power in the family. Rather than men, women have the responsibility of controlling the family budget, and are more likely to be considered a source of wisdom.