Quality of marriage: a comparison between golden wedding couples and couples married less than fifty years

The quality of marriage is investigated for a sample of 79 couples living in a midwestern comprehensive retirement community. These 158 older, middle-class men and women are healthy and average 74.8 years of age. Marital length averages 41 years, and 34.8 percent have celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Marital quality, morale, and sexual behavior are not significantly different for golden wedding couples than for couples married less than 50 years. Couples married less than 50 years spend more time socializing with other couples each week than do those who have passed the 50 year mark; they also have higher levels of sexual interest, and are more likely to have been previously married. All of these couples are happily married, have high morale, and most are still sexually active (62.8 percent).     

Unmarried couples

Results of a study with 75 unmarried couples are presented. The couples were both homo- and heterosexual, both with and without children, of ages varying between 25 and 65, having had relationships lasting between 3 and 33 years, and coming from various levels of society. The inquiry was directed toward the goals and forms of organization of the relationships, as well as the obstacles of a social and juridical nature which these couples experience. Two different models for couples are described. One has the traditional form of marriage as its basis and the other is directed more toward the development of the individual personalities of the partners and their economic independence. The social and juridical differences between those relationships and a traditional marriage were examined with regard to five basic functions (affection, housing, housekeeping, care of children, and financial care) as well as two economic basic intentions (sharing together versus remaining independent together). We also describe how the drawing up of legal contracts between partners is hindered by emotional and legal factors. Appropriate changes in Dutch government policies are examined. Author's Note: The work described here was undertaken in close collaboration with the Sociological Institute, Department of Primary Groups, Utrecht University (A. M. van der Heiden, M.A.), and with the Faculty of Law, Department of Notary Law, Leiden University (W.C.J. Robert, L.L.M.). The translation is by Mr. Anthony S. Cowl.     

Gaze in married couples

This study examined the looking behavior of married couples during a 10 minute interaction segment. The variables examined included marital adjustment level, interaction role (speaking or listening) and type of message. Wives were more likely to look at their spouses than husbands were, and speakers were more likely to look at their partners than were listeners. While high marital adjustment spouses looked less over all types of mesages, low marital adjustment spouses particularly looked more than the highs on negative messages, suggesting either a confrontation component to the looking, or a strong need to monitor the partner's reactions in such situations. There was also evidence of more displayed competitiveness in the low marital adjustment couples. Correlational analyses revealed that there were different relationships between the looking behavior of the speaking spouse and the looking behavior of the listening spouse, and between the spouses' patterns of looking when speaking or listening and that these differences were dependent on marital adjustment level.     

《黄金时代》

The Golden Era, a biopic about the life of trailblazing Chinese temale writer Xiao Hong （played by Tang Wei）, is Hong Kong director Ann Hui＇s latest, and most ambitious, film.     

Are Gay and Lesbian cohabiting couples really different from heterosexual married couples?

Both partners from gay and lesbian cohabiting couples without children were compared longitudinally with both partners from heterosexual married couples with children (N at first assessment = 80, 53, and 80 couples, respectively) on variables from 5 domains indicative of relationship health. For 50% of the comparisons, gay and lesbian partners did not differ from heterosexual partners. Seventy‐eight percent of the comparisons on which differences were found indicated that gay or lesbian partners functioned better than heterosexual partners did. Because the variables that predicted concurrent relationship quality and relationship stability for heterosexual parents also did so for gay and lesbian partners, I conclude that the processes that regulate relationship functioning generalize across gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples.     

Family-of-origin frames in couples therapy

Six types of family-of-origin frames—coping, modeling, role, definition, reversal, and loyalty frames—are utilized in understanding three common couple interactional situations: pursuing/distancing, overfunctioning/underfunctioning, and blaming/placating. Clinical examples are used to illustrate the process of constructing family-of-origin frames in couples therapy.     

Working couples and class identification

This study examines the class identification patterns of married persons with working spouses. The analysis replicates earlier research demonstrating that the subjective class position of working wives is not determined solely by the husband's occupation but is also influenced by their own position in the labor force. In addition, it is argued that the class identification of men is affected by the wife's work experience. The class positions of individuals within families appears to be affected by both an individual's own occupation as well as that of the spouse.     

A wedding in the family: home making in a global kin network

Rituals such as weddings and funerals are significant for transnational family networks as events where scattered relatives meet and validate shared kinship and common origins. They are particularly important when taking place at a family ‘home’ that has been a centre of social and economic relations and locus of emotional attachment. This article analyses a wedding on a Caribbean island involving a large global family network, which occurred at a critical point in the family’s history. It became an occasion when members asserted their notions of belonging rooted in the ‘home’, not just as members of a common kin group, but as persons whose life trajectories had involved them in different social, economic and geographical contexts. Individually they had dissimilar interpretations and expectations of their place in the home, and these were played out at the wedding. The gathering allowed a display of family solidarity, but was also a site where differing views of individuals’ contribution to the global household were expressed, and rights to belong in the family home and, by implication, the island were contested.     

Treating emotion dysregulation in a couples context: a pilot study of a couples skills group intervention

This article reports the development of a couple-based intervention in which at least one partner had experienced chronic difficulties in emotion regulation, operationalized as having participated in a yearlong dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills training group. Integrating dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive-behavioral couple therapy, this group intervention taught couples emotion regulation, communication, and problem-solving skills, and led them through an exploration of how strong feelings affect and are affected by their relationship. The effects of treatment were evaluated in terms of relationship satisfaction and individual well-being. Sizeable treatment effects were found in several domains, including a reduction in DBT graduates' depressive symptoms and emotion dysregulation, and an increase in their partners' relationship satisfaction and confidence in their graduate spouses' ability to regulate emotions.     

Taking her hand: Becoming,time and the cultural politics of the white wedding

Abstract

This article attempts a cultural analysis of the white wedding as an event that can be viewed as the crystallisation of several moments of identification, both temporal and spatial. Written in three sections, each located within a different philosophical literature, the article focuses on the significations that surround the emblem of ‘the hand’, playing on all the associations that gather around that emblem, and making critical consideration of a series of crucial boundaries of cultural differentiation.     

Effectiveness of couples treatment for spouse abuse

Despite its controversy, carefully conceptualized and delivered couples treatment appears to be at least as effective as traditional treatment for domestic violence, and preliminary data suggests that it does not place women at greater risk for injury. However, the body of research on which these conclusions rest is sparse. Only six experimental studies have been done, each using different eligibility criteria, outcome measures, and treatment approaches. Thus, further study of this modality is warranted. Marriage and family therapists have an important part to play in continuing to develop and test innovative ways of helping couples end violence and improve their relationships--an endeavor that promises to improve the quality of the partners' lives as well as those of their children.     

Illness and loss: Helping couples cope

The serious illness or disability of a spouse may constitute a major threat to the marital relationship and lead to disruption in family functioning. This paper presents a developmental framework which addresses some of the unique adjustments these couples face over time. Adaptations which promote optimal marital functioning, the role of the therapist throughout the process, and relevant interventive strategies are highlighted.     

Encouraging interactional processes with couples in therapy

The complexities of clinical social work with couples involve interactional and intrapsychic processes of all three participants: the partnersand the therapist. Highlighted in this paper are the social interactional processes of the three-person therapeutic system when the couple are seen conjointly. Examined are the general effort of the therapist, the treatment stages or procession, and delicate processes and balances monitored and facilitated by the clinical social worker.     

Outness and relationship satisfaction in same-gender couples

Self-disclosure of sexual orientation, or outness, is a fundamental feature of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) experience, yet little is known about how outness impacts same-gender relationship satisfaction. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 15 same-gender couples, the complexities of navigating a stigmatized identity in a homonegative society emerged, including (a) characteristics of outness, (b) the influence of coupling on an individual's outness, and (c) the impact of outness on same-gender relationship satisfaction. Findings suggest that for GLB persons, outness is a developmental skill, an expression of identity and values, as well as a resilience strategy for managing discrimination and gay-related stress that influences, though does not singularly determine, relationship satisfaction. Implications for clinical practice and future research suggestions are presented.     

The Golden Anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous

No abstract available for this article.     

Patterns of intimate partner violence in young adult couples: nonviolent, unilaterally violent, and mutually violent couples

This study examined nonviolent (NV), unilaterally violent (UV), and mutually violent (MV) patterns of perpetrated intimate partner violence in relation to dyadic relationship quality and partner injury. The respondents were 1,294 young adult, Add Health partners (AHP) and their non-Add Health partners (NAHP), in dating, engaged, or in marital relationships, who were participants in Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Using both partner reports of perpetration to classify intimate partner violence (IPV) patterns resulted in 25% of couples with a MV pattern, and 75% of couples with a UV pattern; among those couples (41%) reporting any perpetrated IPV. Results also showed poorer relationship quality and higher partner sensation-seeking scores among MV and UV couples when contrasted with NV couples. Those couples with MV patterns were more likely to contain partner injury than those with UV patterns.