Intergenerational Support and Marital Satisfaction: Implications of Beliefs About Helping Aging Parents

Everyday support given to aging parents is a salient aspect of married life that may have implications for marital quality. Among 132 middle‐aged couples drawn from Wave 1 of the Family Exchanges Study, the authors examined the moderating effects of each spouse's normative and motivational beliefs about helping parents on associations between the frequency of everyday support that wives and husbands gave to their own parents and marital satisfaction. Husbands' more frequent provision of support was linked to wives' greater marital satisfaction when reports of personal rewards linked to helping parents were high for wives or low for husbands. Conversely, wives' more frequent provision of support was linked to husbands' lower marital satisfaction when reports of filial obligation were low for husbands or high for wives. Findings highlight the interdependence within couples and indicate that both spouses' perceptions are important in understanding linkages between intergenerational support and marital satisfaction.     

Marital Sentiment Override: Does It Influence Couples' Perceptions?

This study investigated the effects of spouses' global sentiments (i.e., their marital bonds) on spouses' perceptions of their partners' specific affects. Ninety‐six newlywed couples participated in the study. Positive or negative sentiment override was indicated when spouse ratings of specific affects differed from the coding of objective coders. For both positive affect and low‐intensity negative affect, wives' marital bond predicted their ratings of their husbands' affect. In addition, there was evidence for positive sentiment override when wives rated husbands' low‐intensity negative affect. As predicted, neither husbands nor wives were influenced by sentiment override when rating their spouses' high‐intensity negative affects. These results suggest that marital bond serves as a perceptual filter through which wives evaluate their husbands' behavior.     

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.     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Newlywed Couples' Neuroticism and Stressful Events on Marital Satisfaction Through Mutual Problem Solving

This investigation examined the role of neuroticism, stressful experiences, and mutual problem solving in newlywed couples' marital satisfaction. The vulnerability-stress-adaptation model of marital development was used as the basis of the proposed hypotheses. Dyadic analyses and tests of indirect effects were performed on data from 186 couples in the first 5 years of their marriage. Results indicate that husbands' and wives' work, job–home interference, and family stress were significantly associated with their own lower marital satisfaction. Significant partner effects further indicated that husbands' and wives' family stress was negatively associated with the marital satisfaction of their partner. Additionally, the relationships between (1) neuroticism and marital satisfaction and (2) stressful events and marital satisfaction can be partially explained by mutual problem solving for both husbands and wives. This study emphasizes the important role of problem-solving communication in newlywed couples' experiences of stressful events and marital satisfaction.     

Changing Partners: Toward a Macrostructural‐Opportunity Theory of Marital Dissolution

We merge marital history data for respondents in the National Survey of Families and Households with census data describing the sex composition of their local marriage markets and occupations to examine the impact of the availability of spousal alternatives on marital dissolution. Proportional hazards regression models that adjust for left truncation reveal that the risk of divorce is highest in geographically defined marriage markets where either husbands or wives encounter numerous alternatives to their current partner. Couples are also more likely to divorce when the wife works in an occupation having relatively many men and few women, but husbands' occupational sex ratio has no effect on the risk of marital dissolution. The destabilizing effects of the availability of spousal alternatives in the local marriage market and in wives' occupations are equally strong among couples with many and few other risk factors for divorce. Our findings suggest that spouses' structural opportunities to form alternative opposite‐sex relationships are an important factor in explaining why some couples divorce.     

Family Stress During the Czech Transformation

Using three waves of data (1994–1996) from Czech households, we examined the mediating role of family interactions on the relation between 1994 family economic pressure and increased marital instability 1994–1996. The models demonstrate that economic pressure made both husbands and wives irritable, and their tension exacerbated problem behaviors (e.g., drinking and fighting) and depression. Husbands' problem behaviors generated hostility toward their wives, which increased wives' reports of greater marital instability. Wives' irritability increased their behavior problems, as well, but behavior problems were unrelated to wives' hostility or husbands' marital instability. Instead, wives' irritability directly increased their hostility toward their husbands, which in turn, increased husbands' reports of greater marital instability.     

AUTONOMY AND RELATEDNESS IN MARITAL FUNCTIONING

The current investigation expands the focus of cognitive behavioral formulations of marriage by exploring the constructs of autonomy and relatendness in marriage. One hundred forty-one married couples matched to the 1990 U.S. census data on age, race, and income completed a number of self-report marital inventories including the Autonomy and Relatendness Inventory (Schaefer, Edgerton, & Burnett, 1991). Autonomy was measured by evaluating spouses' perceptions of the extent to which partners encouraged a sense of independence and individuality for the spouses. Relatedness was measured by evaluating spouses' perceptions of the amount of closeness that partners provided. It was found that autonomy and relatedness were significantly positively correlated with each other, as well as with marital adjustment for both males and females. It was found that for females, the provision of relatedness (as reported by their husbands) was significantly related to the standards that they held for the relationship. In addition, it was found that for females, the provision of relatedness (as reported by their husbands) was significantly related to the standards that husbands held for the relationship. However, no significant relationships were found between husbands' standards and relatedness (either as reported by wives or husbands). It was concluded that it is appropriate to help couples think of autonomy and relatedness as being tow important aspects of marriage that can exist together and are related to a satisfying marriage. Implications of the findings suggest that marital therapists could expand the conceptualization of marital therapy beyond being primarily relationship focused to include attention to individual needs of the spouses. Relatedness was measured by evaluating spouses' perception of the amount of closeness that partners privided. It was found that autonomy and relatedness were significantly positively correlated with each other as well as with marital adjustment for both males and females. It was found that for females, the prpvision of relatedness(as reported by their husbands) was significantly related to the srandards that they held for the relationship. In addition, it was found that for females, the provision of relatedness(as reported by their husbands)was significantly related to the standards that husbands held for the relatinship. How-ever, no significant relationships were found between husbands' standards and     

Role Balance Among White Married Couples

We generate models predicting wives' and husbands' feelings of overall balance across roles. Drawing on fine‐grained data about marital lifestyles and time use, we find few predictors that are the same for both partners. Both report greater role balance when their level of parental attachment to children is higher and when their marital satisfaction is greater, but gendered time use gives rise to important differences. Wives report greater balance when they have more paid work hours but have fewer of these hours on weekends. Wives' balance is also greater when they feel less financial strain, have less leisure time alone with their children, more couple leisure alone with their husbands, and more social network involvement. Husbands' contribute to wives' balance when they report more relationship maintenance in the marriage and more leisure with their children at those times when wives are not present. Husbands' own role balance increases as their income rises, but it decreases as their work hours rise. Husbands' balance also rises with more nuclear family leisure, and it lessens as their leisure alone increases. Our discussion highlights the ways that gendered marital roles lead to these different correlates of balance.     

The Division of Household Labor: Longitudinal Changes and Within‐Couple Variation

This study examined how the division of household labor changed as a function of marital duration and whether within‐couple variation in spouses' relative power and availability were linked to within‐couple variation in the division of labor. On 4 occasions over 7 years, 188 stably married couples reported on their housework activities using daily diaries. Multilevel models revealed that wives' portions of household responsibilities declined over time and that changes in spouses' relative income and work hours were linked to changes in housework allocation. Wives with husbands who perceived greater marital control, on average, did proportionally more housework, and for couples with husbands who had highly autonomous jobs, changes in spouses' relative psychological job involvement were linked to changes in housework allocation. The findings highlight the importance of understanding household division of labor as a life span phenomenon, the distinction between within‐ versus between‐couple associations, and the multidimensional nature of power and availability.     

Marital Conflict in Older Couples: Positivity,Personality, and Health

The authors examine the implications of health and personality characteristics for late‐life marital conflict using data from the 2010–2011 wave of the National Social Life Health and Aging Project, a nationally representative study with data on both partners in 955 marital and cohabitational dyads. Using these data, they relate characteristics of husbands to characteristics of their wives and vice versa. Wives with husbands in fair or poor physical health were more likely to report high levels of marital conflict, but the reverse was not true. Similarly, wives reported more conflict when their husbands were high on Neuroticism, high on Extraversion, and low on a new measure the authors call Positivity. The findings suggest noteworthy gender differences between men and women in the associations between individual characteristics and levels of marital conflict. The authors point to differences between husbands' and wives' marital roles as a contributor to these differences.     

Stress Hormone Changes and Marital Conflict: Spouses’ Relative Power Makes a Difference

We investigated the impact of relative marital power on 72 newlywed couples’ endocrinological responses to marital conflict. Marital power was determined by comparing spouses’ reports of dependent love for one another. Less powerful spouses displayed elevated adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) responses to a conflict discussion. Shared power appeared to have a beneficial effect on wives’ but not husbands’ ACTH responses. Spouses’ cortisol levels declined over time, except for wives who were less powerful and for husbands who shared power with their wives. Conflict behaviors did not differ as a function of this marital power index. These data suggest that relative levels of general emotional power in relationships may play an important role in spouses’ physiological responses to marital conflict.     

A Research Note on Family and Income Distribution: The Equalizing Impact of Married Women's Earnings in Metropolitan Brazil*

Using the 1985 Brazilian Annual Household Survey (PNAD), this study analyzes the extent to which the labor force participation of married women influenced familyincome inequality. The marginal impact on family earnings is decomposed into two components, one generated uniquely by differences in earnings inequality between spouses and another produced by imperfect assortive mating on spouses' earnings. Results show that the correlation among spouses' earnings is significantly less than one (0.4), and that the level of earnings inequality is more than 50 percent higher among wives than husbands. Because these forces are offsetting, wives' labor income has a negligible impact on family-income inequality in Brazil. The results demonstrate the importance of isolating the influence of imperfect assortive mating from that due to inequality in earnings between men and women.     

PREDICTING DEPRESSION FROM MARITAL DISTRESS AND ATTRIBUTIONAL PROCESSES*

This study examined the interaction between marital distress and spouses' attributions and expectancies regarding the marital relationship in predicting depressive symptoms in a mixed sample of 59 clinic and nonclinic couples. The best single predictor of depression for both sexes was a measure of disaffection, reflecting emotional distance and alienation in the marriage. However, prediction of wives' depression in multiple regression analyses was enhanced by measures of overt marital disharmony, attribution of causality for relationship difficulties to their own behavior, and failure to attribute difficulties to their husbands' behavior. Regression analyses accounted for 55% of the variance in wives' depression, in contrast to only 32% for husbands. Treatment implications are discussed.     

Compatibility,Leisure, and Satisfaction in Marital Relationships

This study challenges the prevailing view that marital companionship promotes marital satisfaction. By following a cohort of married couples for over a decade and by incorporating several methodological improvements—such as refining the measurement of marital satisfaction, determining how much spouses enjoy doing the leisure activities they pursue together and apart, and using diary data to portray marital leisure patterns—we found that the association between companionship and satisfaction is less robust than previously believed, and that it depends on how often spouses pursue activities that reflect their own and their partner's leisure preferences. Over time, involvement in leisure liked by husbands but disliked by wives, whether as a couple or by husbands alone, is both a cause and a consequence of wives' dissatisfaction.     

Family Ties and the Discontinuity of Divorce in Black and White Newlywed Couples

This paper explores the relationship of family ties to the marital happiness of husbands and wives from intact and disrupted families of origin and to the likelihood that they will divorce by the 4th year of their marriage. Respondents were 199 Black and 173 White couples interviewed as part of the “Early Years of Marriage” study. Analyses showed differences in family connectedness according to whether the family of origin was disrupted, and some variations by race were also evident. Regression analyses revealed that among all spouses, but especially among wives from divorced families, increased closeness to their husbands' families predicted increased happiness in their marriages. Hazard models showed that when husbands' or wives' parents were divorced or separated, couples' closeness to the husbands' family reduced their risk of divorce. Findings are discussed in the context of family systems theory and gender roles related to the forging of links with kin networks.     

Educational Assortative Mating and Income Dynamics in Couples: A Longitudinal Dyadic Perspective

The question of how educational assortative mating may transform couples' lives and within‐family gender inequality has gained increasing attention. Using 25 waves (1979–2012) of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and longitudinal multilevel dyad models, this study investigated how educational assortative mating shapes income dynamics in couples during the marital life course. Couples were grouped into three categories—educational hypergamy (wives less educated than their husbands), homogamy, and hypogamy (wives more educated than their husbands). Results show that change in husbands' income with marital duration is similar across couples, whereas change in wives' income varies by educational assortative mating, with wives in educational hypogamy exhibiting more positive change in income during the marital life course. The finding that husbands' long‐term economic advancement is less affected than that of wives by educational assortative mating underscores the gender‐asymmetric nature of spousal influence in heterosexual marriages.     

Marital Discord and Subsequent Dissolution: Perceptions of Nepalese Wives and Husbands

The author examined the influence of marital discord on separation and divorce in a rural South Asian setting. Little is known about how marital discord influences marital outcomes in settings with low personal freedom and limited access to independence. Using a sample of 674 couples from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, the author investigated the impact of marital discord on the rate of marital dissolution and the extent to which wives' and husbands' perceptions of discord influence dissolution. The results revealed that (a) spouses' perceptions of marital discord increase the rate of marital dissolution, (b) both husbands' and wives' perceptions of discord have an important influence, and (c) the influence of wives' perceptions of discord is independent of their husbands' perceptions. Overall, these findings suggest that both spouses' perceptions of discord are important for marital outcomes, even in settings where the costs of marital dissolution are relatively high.     

Stress Crossover in Newlywed Marriage: A Longitudinal and Dyadic Perspective

Studies of stress and marital quality often assess stress as an intrapersonal phenomenon, examining how spouses’ stress may influence their own relationship well‐being. Yet spouses’ stress also may influence partners’ relationship evaluations, a phenomenon referred to as stress crossover. This study examined stress crossover, and conditions that may facilitate crossover, in a sample of 169 newlywed couples over 3.5 years. A significant crossover effect emerged for husbands, which was moderated by couples’ observed conflict resolution skills. For wives, a significant stress interaction emerged, such that the influence of husbands’ stress on wives’ marital satisfaction depended on wives’ own stress levels. These findings highlight the importance of a dyadic approach when examining the role of stress in marriage.     

Equity Dynamics in the Perceived Fairness of Infant Care

How is the perceived fairness of infant care affected by spouses' relative contributions to it and to other domains of their relationship? Longitudinal data on 178 couples expecting the birth of their first child were collected during a period spanning approximately the first year of the child's life. Overall, wives were more likely than husbands to see infant care as fair to the wife. Net of fathers' contributions to infant care, spouses were more likely to see infant care as fair to wives the more the father worked in paid labor and did housework and the more wives benefited in the sexual relationship. Fathers' contributions to infant care had a stronger effect on fairness when the child was a son. The findings are consistent with equity predictions in that fathers' compensatory contributions to other domains of marriage counterbalance an unequal workload in the arena of family work.     

From Bad to Worse? Pornography Consumption,Spousal Religiosity,Gender, and Marital Quality

Pornography consumption is consistently associated with lower marital quality. Scholars have theorized that embeddedness within a religious community may exacerbate the negative association between pornography use and marital quality because of greater social or psychic costs to porn viewing. As a test and extension of this theory, I examine how being married to a religiously devout spouse potentially moderates the link between respondents' reported pornography consumption and their marital satisfaction. Data are taken from the 2006 Portraits of American Life Study. In the main effects, porn consumption is negatively related to marital satisfaction, while spousal religiosity is positively related to marital satisfaction. Interaction effects reveal, however, that spousal religiosity intensifies the negative effect of porn viewing on marital satisfaction. These effects are robust whether marital satisfaction is operationalized as a scale or with individual measures and whether spousal religiosity is measured with respondents' evaluations their spouses' religiosity or spouses' self‐reported religiosity measures. The effects are also similar for both husbands and wives. I argue that for married Americans, having a religiously committed spouse increases the social and psychic costs of porn consumption such that marital satisfaction decreases more drastically as a result.