Association between Depressive Symptoms,Perceived Partner Emotional Expression,and Marital Quality

Previous studies have explored the direct association between mental health and marital quality; however, the processes moderating that association are not yet well understood. The present study examined associations between depressive symptoms, perceived partner emotional expression, and marital quality among 462 married individuals. Findings suggest that (a) low commitment, low satisfaction, and marital instability may be symptomatic of mental well-being; (b) individuals experiencing depressive symptoms are more inclined to have negative views of their relationships; and (c) perceptions of their partners’ expressions of gratitude and understanding serve as a buffer against the negative association between depressive symptoms and marital quality. Thus, perceptions of positive emotional expressiveness may serve as a resource facilitating marital quality when individuals are experiencing depressive symptoms.     

Partners’ overwork and individuals’ wellbeing and experienced relationship quality

In this paper, using high quality data from the Work, Family, and Health Network in a sample of IT workers in the US (N?=?590), we examine whether partners’ long work hours are associated with individuals’ perceived stress, time adequacy with partner, and relationship quality, and whether these relationships vary by gender. In addition, following the marital stress model, we investigate whether any negative correlation between partners’ long work hours and relationship quality is mediated by time adequacy or perceived stress. We find that women partnered to men who work long hours (50 or more hours per week) have significantly higher perceived stress and significantly lower time adequacy and relationship quality compared to women partnered to men who work a standard full-time work week (35–49 hours). Further, the increased stress associated with being partnered to a man who overworks, not lower time adequacy, mediates the negative relationship between overwork and relationship quality. Conversely, we find that men partnered to women who work long hours report no differences in stress, time adequacy, or relationship quality than men who are partnered to women who work a standard full-time work week.     

Stress in Childhood and Adulthood: Effects on Marital Quality Over Time

We work from a stress and life course perspective to consider how stress affects trajectories of change in marital quality over time. Specifically, we ask whether stress is more likely to undermine the quality of marital experiences at different points in the life course. In addition, we ask whether the effects of adult stress on marital quality depend on childhood family stress experiences. Growth curve analysis of data from a national longitudinal survey (Americans' Changing Lives, N = 1,059 married individuals) reveals no evidence of age differences in the effects of adult stress on subsequent trajectories of change in marital experiences. Our results, however, suggest that the effects of adult stress on marital quality may depend on childhood stress exposure. Stress in adulthood appears to take a cumulative toll on marriage over time-but this toll is paid primarily by individuals who report a more stressful childhood. This toll does not depend on the timing of stress in the adult life course.     

Divison of Labor,Perceived Fairness,and Marital Quality: The Effect of Gender Ideology

This study assesses the relations between division of household labor, perceived fairness, and marital quality by comparing three ethnic‐religious groups in Israel that reflect traditional, transitional, and egalitarian ideologies. The findings, based on structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology, show that sense of fairness mediates the relation between division of labor and marital quality and gender ideology moderates these relations for women but not for men. Perceived fairness is related to the division of labor for women in egalitarian and transitional families but not in traditional ones. For egalitarian women, a more segregated division of labor is linked directly with lower marital quality whereas for women in transitional families it is mediated by sense of fairness. The findings are discussed on two overlapping levels—conceptual‐theoretical and sociocultural—with implications for understanding families in cultural transition.     

Promoting Volunteerism: Effects of Self-Efficacy, Advertisement-Induced Emotional Arousal, Perceived Costs of Volunteering, and Message Framing

This paper examines the extent to which communication strategies may influence willingness to volunteer. Research on persuasive advertising and the “arousal: cost-reward” model serve as theoretical foundations. The results of two experiments indicate that advertisement-induced (ad-induced) emotional arousal, message framing, and manipulations of self-efficacy perceptions can impact willingness to volunteer. Analysis detected a significant interaction between perceived self-efficacy and message framing. In the low (high) self-efficacy condition gain frames (loss frames) were more persuasive. When gender-related differences were considered, analysis revealed that ad-induced emotional arousal and manipulations of self-efficacy had their impact solely on men’s willingness to volunteer. Based on the results of the empirical analyses, implications for management and starting points for future research are presented.     

Spillover Between Marital Quality and Job Satisfaction: Long‐Term Patterns and Gender Differences

We used data from a 12‐year panel survey of a nationally representative sample of married individuals (not couples) and structural equation modeling to investigate the process of spillover between marital quality (satisfaction and discord) and job satisfaction among married individuals. We considered three questions: whether job satisfaction and marital quality are related over the long term, whether influence flows primarily from work to family or if there is a pattern of mutual effects between job satisfaction and marital quality, and whether job satisfaction and marital quality are related in similar ways for married women and married men over the long term. We found that marital quality and job satisfaction are related over the long term and that marital quality is the more influential of these domains. We found evidence of both positive and negative spillover from marital quality to job satisfaction over the long term. Specifically, increases in marital satisfaction were significantly related to increases in job satisfaction, and increases in marital discord were significantly related to declines in job satisfaction. Finally, our results indicated that these processes operate similarly for married women and married men.     

Associations Between Marital Meaning and Reasons to Delay Marriage for Young Adults in Romantic Relationships

Using symbolic interactionism we developed an open-ended question to examine marital meaning for young adults (N = 111). Themes to emerge were love and commitment. Participants were placed into clusters: contractual (low love, high commitment), optimistic-realistic (high love, high commitment), romanticizing (high love, low commitment), and casual (low love, low commitment). We examined marital meaning and associations with reasons to delay marriage, conceptualized as relational doubts and financial concerns. Optimistic-realistic and casual individuals reported fewer relational doubts than contractual individuals. Longer relationship length was associated with fewer financial concerns for optimistic-realistic individuals when compared with all others. We conclude that although love and commitment are central to marital meaning, for some, specific pairings of these themes have implications in understanding reasons young adults delay marrying.     

Hard Living,Perceived Entitlement to a Great Marriage,and Marital Dissolution

Using the two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), we examine the effects on marital dissolution of couple's gender attitudes, perceived unfairness, marital disagreements, and relationship alternatives, exploring whether these dimensions of marriage influence marital dissolution, net of serious forms of hardship commonly noted in divorce research. With event history methods, we find that husbands’, but not wives’, perceived disagreements and alternatives are associated with higher odds of marital dissolution, though couples' marital happiness strongly mediates the effects of husbands' dissatisfaction. Wives' traditional attitudes are associated with lower odds and husbands' with higher odds of marital dissolution. We find no significant effects of unfairness perceptions on divorce. A nonviolent relationship is associated with lower odds of marital dissolution, but accumulated assets and debt and husbands' drug or alcohol abuse are not associated significantly with marital dissolution. Our analysis contributes to divorce research by demonstrating the importance of gender attitudes and low physical conflict and by showing that instances of perceived dissatisfaction might not matter for couples as much as marital happiness as an influence on divorce.     

Factors associated with exercise participation in adults with arthritis

Most people with arthritis are not regularly active. Understanding what factors influence exercise is essential for designing programs to increase participation. The objective of this study was to examine the correlates of exercise in people with arthritis. Using a cross-sectional design, sociodemographic, health-related, and psychosocial variables were collected from community-dwelling individuals with arthritis (N = 141). Associations with exercise level were examined with bivariate statistics (ANOVAs, chi-squares) and logistic-regression analyses. Exercisers were less likely than nonexercisers and insufficiently active people to report that arthritis negatively affected their physical and social functioning, and they reported more positive affect and greater self-efficacy (p < .05). Exercisers also reported less pain than nonexercisers (p < .05). In multiple logistic-regression analyses, self-efficacy and physical limitations remained independent predictors of exercise. The results suggest the need to target exercise self-efficacy when designing exercise interventions. Results also suggest the need to tailor exercise programs to individuals' physical limitations.     

An Exploration of the Independent Contributions of Genetics, Shared Environment, Specific Environment, and Adult Roles and Statuses on Perceived Control

Perceived-control 'describes individuals'generalized beliefs about their abilities to influence their life courses and circumstances. Most research concerning this construct has viewed perceived control as a developmentally acquired, stable personality characteristic. Others argue that perceived control is determined by current social status, with more privileged social positions contributing to increased control over life circumstances.
This study analyzes data from the Virginia Twin Registry to determine the independent contributions of genetics, shared environment, and nonshared environment, including adult roles and statuses, on women's perceived control. Findings from latent variable twin models suggest that there are modest but significant effects of shared environment and genetics on perceived control but that the majority of individual variation in perceived control is due to nonshared environmental factors on perceived control among adult women. Analyses of measured individual-level variables indicate significant effects from education, income, earnings, marital quality, age, and single-parent status.     

When good is good: A virtuous circle of self-efficacy and flow at work among teachers

Abstract

The objective of this study was to extend the channel model of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1990) by including self-efficacy as predictor of the challenges-skills combination, and of the flow experience itself, based on the predictions of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997, 2001). We conducted a two-wave longitudinal study among 258 secondary school teachers. Results, first, showed that the channel model of flow, including self-efficacy as antecedent of flow, fitted better the data. Secondly, it was observed that the more self-efficacy the more flow frequency and higher levels of challenge and skills which, in turn, predicted flow over time. Moreover, the influence of self-efficacy on flow over time was mediated by subjects' perception of the challenges and skills combination. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of integrating flow theory into the social cognitive theory.     

Conundrum of Sexual Decision Making in Marital Relationships: Safer-Sex Knowledge,Behavior, and Attitudes of Married Women in Zambia

Recent research suggests that Zambian women face an increasing risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) within marital relationships. Married women's perceived ability to negotiate safer sex or adopt self-efficacy practices is recognized as critical in preventing new infections within marriage. Yet women's self-efficacy practices, such as requesting condom use or refusing sex within marriage, are influenced by individual and context-specific factors. Using the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey data from 4,306 married women, this article examines the association between married women's perceived ability to negotiate safer sex and a range of attitudinal, knowledge, and sociodemographic variables. Results from complementary log-log regression models reveal that married women who have factual knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, as well as those who have been tested for their HIV serostatus, were more likely to report they can request that their husbands use a condom. Rural married women were more likely to report they can refuse their husbands sex compared to woman in urban areas. Likewise, married women who agree that a wife is justified in refusing her husband sex if he sleeps with other women were more likely to report they can negotiate safer sex compared to women who disagree. These findings suggest that married women are able to negotiate safer sex if they have correct factual knowledge about HIV transmission and are aware of their rights within marital relations.     

Continuity and Change in Marital Quality Between 1980 and 2000

We use data from two national surveys of married individuals—one from 1980 and the other from 2000—to understand how three dimensions of marital quality changed during this period. Marital happiness and divorce proneness changed little between 1980 and 2000, but marital interaction declined significantly. A decomposition analysis suggested that offsetting trends affected marital quality. Increases in marital heterogamy, premarital cohabitation, wives' extended hours of employment, and wives' job demands were associated with declines in multiple dimensions of marital quality. In contrast, increases in economic resources, decision‐making equality, nontraditional attitudes toward gender, and support for the norm of lifelong marriage were associated with improvements in multiple dimensions of marital quality. Increases in husbands' share of housework appeared to depress marital quality among husbands but to improve marital quality among wives.     

Money Matters in Marriage: Financial Concerns,Warmth, and Hostility Among Military Couples

The effects of military couples’ (N?=?219) financial management concerns on marital quality were investigated using an actor-partner interdependence model based on the family stress model. The influence of the mediating role of warm and hostile marital interactions was also investigated after accounting for multiple indicators of the military context, which are usually significant in the lives of military families. Individuals with higher levels of concern about financial management expressed less warmth and more hostility towards their partner. In turn, individuals exhibiting higher levels of warmth had spouses who reported greater marital quality.     

Relationship matters: How government organization-public relationship impacts disaster recovery outcomes among multiethnic communities

Government and emergency management (EM) agencies play a leading role in managing natural disasters. However, it is less well understood how the quality of the relationship between government and various publics may impact long-term disaster-coping and recovery outcomes. Extending the relationship management framework to the context of disaster management, the current study tests the relationships among different ethnic publics’ OPR quality, their communicative behaviors of seeking government and EM information, and disaster-coping outcomes. Results suggest that government OPR quality is positively related to information seeking and major disaster-coping outcomes, including self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and community resilience perceptions. Moreover, the extent to which OPR quality impacts disaster-coping outcomes significantly diverges across ethnic lines. Results provide implications for multicultural relationship management in the context of post-disaster recovery and community building.     

The Influence of Perceived Parenting Style and Contraceptive Self-Efficacy on College Student Contraceptive Use

ABSTRACT

Few studies have examined the influence that parenting style has on the contraceptive use of college students. The current study explored the relationships between perceived parenting style, contraceptive attitudes, contraceptive self-efficacy, and contraceptive use in 270 college students. Analyses revealed that perceived parenting style had a relationship with contraceptive attitudes and when combined with contraceptive self-efficacy predicted contraceptive use. Findings suggest that for college students, both internal and external influences on beliefs contribute to contraceptive use and the parent–child relationship remains influential. Further research should explore specific aspects of parent–child communication that increase self-efficacy and subsequent contraceptive use. The implications of current results could inform the delivery of parent education and student sexual health programs.     

Motives for flexible work arrangement use

This study investigated employees’ motives for using two types of flexible work arrangements (FWA), flextime and flexplace. Using a sample of workers with high job flexibility (university academics), we examined both the prevalence of different motives (life management and work-related) and how these motives vary according to several individual differences (gender, family responsibility, marital status, and work-nonwork segmentation preferences). Overall, results indicated that employees are more driven to use FWA by work-related motives than by life management motives. Those with greater family responsibilities and those married/living with a partner were more likely to endorse life management motives, whereas individuals with greater segmentation preferences were more motivated to use FWA by work-related motives. Findings regarding gender were contrary to expectations based on traditional gender roles, as there were no gender differences in life management motives but women more highly endorsed work-related motives than did men. The main implications of the findings are that individuals recognize FWA as not only a work-family policy, but also as a potential means to increase productivity. Individual differences relate to why workers use available flexible policies. Additional theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Depression and the psychological benefits of entering marriage

Past research has consistently documented the positive relationship between a transition to marriage and psychological well-being. In this study, we separate the depressed from the nondepressed to assess whether the benefits marriage has for psychological well-being depend on premarital depression. We also examine whether the effect of marital quality in moderating the psychological consequences of marriage differs for the depressed and the nondepressed. Results indicate that, on average, those who were depressed prior to marrying report larger psychological gains from marriage than those who were not depressed. The role of marital quality in moderating the effect of marriage on psychological well-being is similar for previously depressed and previously nondepressed respondents. These findings call into question the assumption that marriage is always a good choice for all individuals. What appear to be strong average benefits of marriage are actually highly dependent on a range of individual, interpersonal, and structural characteristics.     

Mindful relating: exploring mindfulness and emotion repertoires in intimate relationships

This study tested the theory that mindfulness contributes to greater intimate relationship satisfaction by fostering more relationally skillful emotion repertoires. A sample of married couples was administered measures of mindful awareness, emotion skills, and marital quality. We hypothesized that mindfulness would be associated with both marital quality and partners' emotion skills and that the association between mindfulness and marital quality would be mediated by emotion repertoire skill. Findings suggested that emotion skills and mindfulness are both related to marital adjustment, and that skilled emotion repertoires, specifically those associated with identifying and communicating emotions, as well as the regulation of anger expression, fully mediate the association between mindfulness and marital quality. Theoretical implications are discussed.