Work,marriage, and health behaviors of African American working couples

Using a sample of 379 African American working husbands and wives, this study examined a unique link between work and marital experiences on health‐promoting behaviors. Results of the dyadic model show that husbands' and wives' control over work are directly associated with husbands' and wives' health‐promoting behaviors, respectively, after taking into account the dependencies between husbands and wives. The results of the dyadic model also show that husbands' and wives' control over work are indirectly associated with husbands' and wives' health behaviors through their perceived marital integrations. By understanding how work control and marital integration combine to influence both husbands' and wives' health behaviors, programs that promote healthy behaviors can be better designed and more effectively implemented.     

Testing crossover effects in an actor–partner interdependence model among Chinese dual‐earner couples

The purpose of the present study is to examine the crossover effects from one partner's work–family interface (work–family conflict [WFC] and work–family enrichment [WFE]) to the other partner's four outcomes (psychological strain, life satisfaction, marital satisfaction and job satisfaction) in a sample of Chinese dual‐earner couples. Married couples (N = 361) completed a battery of questionnaires, including the work–family interface scale, the psychological strain scale, the life, marital, as well as job satisfaction scale. Results from the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) analyses showed that wives' WFE was negatively associated with husbands' psychological strain, and positively associated with husbands' life, marital and job satisfaction. Furthermore, husbands' WFC was negatively related to wives' marital satisfaction, whereas husbands' WFE was positively related to wives' marital satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed, and future research directions were provided.     

Wives' and Husbands' Cortisol Reactivity to Proximal and Distal Dimensions of Couple Conflict

Poor marital quality has been linked repeatedly to spouses' health problems, with alterations to physiological stress response systems, such as the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical (HPA) axis, as one putative mechanism. This study assessed wives' and husbands' HPA axis (i.e., cortisol) reactivity to marital criticism during laboratory‐based conflict discussions, in the context of marital aggression experienced during the previous year. Ninety‐five couples provided one saliva sample prior to—and three samples following—a triadic family conflict discussion involving their teenage child. Marital criticism during the conflict discussion was related to heightened HPA reactivity for husbands only. For wives, an interaction emerged between criticism during the conflict and previous‐year marital aggression: only those wives who had experienced high levels of marital aggression demonstrated a positive association between criticism and cortisol output. Husbands thus appeared to be more physiologically reactive to the in‐the‐moment critical behaviors, whereas wives' responses to proximal conflict were related to previous and perhaps more chronic experiences of marital aggression. These findings shed light on ways in which within‐couple processes during family conflicts involving children contribute to individual physiological functioning, enhancing our understanding of the role of family relationships in physical health outcomes.     

Perceived community disorder,hostile marital interactions,and self‐reported health of African American couples: An interdyadic process

Using a sample of African American husbands and wives, this study investigates whether marital interactions and health are linked to their perceived community disorder. Findings suggest that only husbands' perceived community disorder is associated with their hostile behaviors toward their wives. Although wives' perceived disorder is strongly associated with husbands' perceived disorder, wives' perceptions are not directly associated with their hostile behaviors toward their husbands. Findings also suggest that husbands' and wives' hostile behaviors are strongly associated with each other. In general, spouses' hostile behaviors toward their partners are associated with their own as well as their partners' physical and mental health. Furthermore, husbands' perceived community disorder is directly associated with their own physical and mental health.     

Behavioral buffers on the effect of negativity on marital satisfaction: A longitudinal study

A 2-year longitudinal study of newlyweds was conducted to explore the connection between negativity and satisfaction as a function of (a) the extent to which spouses create an atmosphere of friendliness (as indexed by the degree to which they are affectionally expressive) and (b) the reported extent to which they try to accommodate to each other's needs and work toward maintaining the quality of their relationship. Data concerning marital behavior (negativity, affectional expression, and maintenance) and marital satisfaction were gathered from 105 pairs of spouses on three occasions spaced approximately a year apart. Hierarchical regressions with the concurrent data revealed that affectional expression and maintenance appear to buffer the impact of husbands' negativity on wives' satisfaction. The buffering hypothesis was not supported, however, when wives' behavior was used to account for husbands' satisfaction. Consistent with the buffering hypothesis, the decline in wives' satisfaction associated with husbands' negativity was less great when husbands exhibited relatively high levels of affectional expression. Declines in husbands' level of satisfaction, in contrast, could not be predicted by wives' initial levels of negativity, considered alone, or in combination with either their level of affectional expression or maintenance behavior.     

Temporal Linkages Between Wives' Pursuit and Husbands' Withdrawal During Marital Conflict

This study examined the association between wives' pursuit and husbands' withdrawal during marital conflict discussions, and the affects associated with these behaviors. Ten distressed and 10 nondistressed couples completed a videotaped interaction in which the wives requested changes in husbands' behaviors. Results showed sequential dependencies between wives' pursuit and husbands' withdrawal, but distressed couples, as compared to nondistressed couples, did not engage in stronger pursuit/withdrawal patterns. Distressed husbands showed the highest proportions of anxious affects. The findings are discussed with reference to the affective context of the pursuit/withdrawal pattern.     

Remarriage Beliefs as Predictors of Marital Quality and Positive Interaction in Stepcouples: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

Using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Model, we examined remarriage beliefs as predictors of marital quality and positive interaction in a sample of 179 stepcouples. Three beliefs were measured using subscales from the Remarriage Belief Inventory (RMBI) including success is slim, children are the priority, and finances should be pooled. Several significant actor and partner effects were found for both wives' and husbands' beliefs. Wives' marital quality was positively associated with their own beliefs that finances should be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that success is slim. Wives' reports of their own and spouses' positive interaction were both positively associated with their beliefs that finances should be pooled. Their reports of spouses' positive interaction were also negatively associated with husbands' beliefs that success is slim. Husbands' marital quality was positively associated with wives' beliefs that children are the priority, positively associated with their own beliefs that finances should be pooled, and negatively with success is slim. Positive interaction for husbands was positively associated with wives' beliefs that finances should be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that success is slim. Finally, husbands' reports of positive interaction for their spouses were positively associated with wives' beliefs that finances should be pooled. Implications for future research utilizing dyadic data analysis with stepcouples are addressed.     

Marital adjustment among rural couples: The role of expressiveness

This study examined the relationship between marital adjustment and husbands' and wives' instrumentalness and expressiveness. Eighty-five rural couples completed the Spanier Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses indicated that husbands' expressiveness was the sole predictor of both husbands' and wives' marital adjustment. Results are compared to previous research findings with urban couples. Implications of the findings for gender-related patterns of socialization are also discussed.     

Predicting marital satisfaction from behavior: Do all roads really lead to Rome?

The concurrent and longitudinal associations between spousal communication and marital satisfaction were investigated using two systems of observation (rating and coding) and two statistical methods. A coding system and a rating system were used to assess the amount of positive, negative, and avoidant behavior exhibited by 30 couples engaged in a 15-minute discussion about a marital problem. Change scores as well as regression methods were used to calculate correlations between communication behaviors and one-year change in Marital Adjustment Test (MAT) scores. Positive behavior by both spouses predicted an increase in wives' satisfaction, and negative behavior by both spouses predicted a decrease in wives' satisfaction. None of the variables consistently predicted changes in husbands' satisfaction. The two systems of observation and the two methods of analysis produced similar though not identical results. The article discusses the constructs of negative and avoidant behavior, reviews limitations of standard marital research methods, and offers theoretical and methodological recommendations for future research.     

Effects of physical and verbal aggression,depression, and anxiety on drinking behavior of married partners: a prospective and retrospective longitudinal examination

In an ethnically diverse sample of 195 married couples, we conducted a latent factor growth analysis to investigate the longitudinal link (4 time points over 4½ years) between marital aggression (physical and verbal aggression self‐ and partner‐reports) and individual internalizing symptoms (depression and anxiety) as they relate to trajectories of alcohol use among husbands and wives. Alcohol use was operationalized as a latent factor with self‐ and partner reports of problem drinking as measured by the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and the Alcohol Dependence Scale. Verbal aggression by husbands or wives, by itself, has no effect on their alcohol use over time. In conjunction with depression, however, verbally aggressive husbands do have elevated drinking levels. The effects of husbands' and wives' physical aggression on their own and their partners' drinking behavior were also significant. This study is one of the first to examine the change over time in alcohol use for marital partners as related to marital aggression and internalizing symptoms. Our results shed light on areas of marital functioning (aggression, internalizing, alcohol use) that have not been investigated in conjunction with each other in a longitudinal design. Aggr. Behav. 35:296–312, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Intergenerational relationships and marriage in China: Within-family longitudinal associations and between-family differences

Marriage is embedded in the web of spouses' broader social ties, and relationship quality with parents and parents-in-law is associated with marital quality. Guided by Family Systems theory and using three waves of dyadic data from 268 Chinese different-sex couples across the first several years of marriage, we first conducted a Random-Intercept Actor-Partner Interdependence Cross-lagged Panel Model (RI-APIM-CLPM) to examine the within-family longitudinal associations among husbands' and wives' relationship quality with parents, parents-in-law, and spouse. Then, husbands' and wives' filial obligations were added as predictors of between-family differences in their own and their partner's relationship quality in the three social ties. Among husbands, increased relationship quality in one social tie (e.g., with parents) predicted reductions in relationship quality in the other social ties (e.g., relationships with parents-in-law and marital quality). Our examination of between-family differences demonstrated that high levels of filial obligations predicted higher intergenerational relationship quality and marital quality. By simultaneously considering the within-family associations of multiple social ties and how filial obligations account for between-family differences in relationship quality, we contribute to a nuanced understanding of how Chinese couples' romantic partnerships are embedded in their broader family system.     

The Meta Marriage: Links Between Older Couples' Relationship Narratives and Marital Satisfaction

Drawing upon a relatively understudied population and a unique observational task, the current study sought to examine how older couples' interactional behaviors during a relationship narrative task were associated with marital satisfaction over time. Using observational data from a sample of 64 older, higher‐functioning married couples, we analyzed a series of Actor–Partner Independence Models (APIM) to explore how couples' interactional behaviors during a relationship narrative task were associated with spouses' marital satisfaction both concurrently and one year later. Analyses revealed that spouses' behaviors (e.g., expressions of positive affect, negative affect, communication skills, engagement) were associated with their self‐reported marital satisfaction both at the time of the narrative and with changes in marital satisfaction. We found particularly robust evidence for the role of husbands' negative affect during the narrative task in predicting changes in both spouses' marital satisfaction over time. Our results indicate that researchers and clinicians should carefully consider the influence of development on the associations between spouses' behaviors and marital satisfaction. Further, those seeking to improve marriages in later life may need to consider the meaningful role that gender appears to play in shaping the marital experiences of older couples.     

Perceived Fairness,Marital Conflict,and Depression: A Dyadic Data Analysis

This study explored associations among perceived fairness, marital conflict, and depression. Data for this study included married participants (n = 401 couples) from the Marriage Matters Panel Survey of Newlywed Couples. This study tested three autoregressive cross-lagged models and hypothesized that fairness would precede marital conflict, and continued conflict would lead to greater depression. The final model found that wives' Time 1 perceived fairness was associated with their husbands' conflict at Time 2, and that husbands' perceived fairness at Time 2 was associated with their wives' depression at Time 3. Findings suggest some support for addressing perceived fairness with couples.     

A social relations analysis of nonverbal communication accuracy in married couples

This paper presents a reanalysis of a study (Sabatelli, Buck, & Drever, 1982) that related nonverbal communication accuracy in married couples to marital complaints, using the social relations model developed by Kenny and his colleagues The social relations model allows for the analysis of the communication process in a new and more complete way where, for the first time, the relative contributions of sender, receiver, and unique relationship effects to overall nonverbal communication accuracy can be assessed In addition, each of these factors can be related to marital complaints and the patterns of communication within dyads can be examined for the presence of complementarity/similarity and reciprocity/compensation The overwhelming percentage of variance in communication accuracy was accounted for by sender and unique relationship effects while little variance in communication accuracy was accounted for bv receiver effects In addition, no evidence of complementarity/similarity and only weak support for reciprocity/compensation in the communication abilities of wife and husband was found With regard to marital complaints, the most striking result was the negative correlation between wives' sending ability and husbands' complaints, a finding consistent with the previous report In addition, and consistent with the former analysis, the wives' unique abilities to decode their husbands' expressions were found to correlate negatively with the wives' marital complaints     

The Military Family's Influence on Soldiers' Personal Morale: A Path Analytic Model

The reciprocal relationship of military wives' attitudes to husbands' units and soldiers' personal morale was examined in two groups of soldiers: junior enlisted (El-E4, n = 127) and noncommissioned officers (NCOs; E5-E9, n = 157). We pursued two hypotheses: Wives' attitudes at a given time would influence husbands' morale at a later time both directly and indirectly through husbands' satisfaction with the work-family interface, and wives' attitudes would be influenced by husbands' attitudes and morale at an earlier time. Using a path analytic model we found that wives influence their hus- bands' morale in both groups. We also found that husbands' satisfaction with the work-family interface influenced wives' attitudes to husbands' units, but morale did not.     

Economic stress and marital adjustment among couples: analyses at the dyadic level

This survey study of 608 Finnish couples investigated the question of how economic stress is reflected in marital adjustment on the basis of the model presented by Conger and colleagues. We used the couple as a unit of analysis, performing a dyadic‐level analysis within the framework of LISREL models. The model showed that the path by which economic circumstances were linked to marital adjustment was as follows: poor economic circumstances were linked to economic strain, which was related to increased psychological distress, and psychological distress in turn was negatively reflected in marital adjustment. However, psychological distress only partially mediated the link between economic strain and marital adjustment: economic strain was also directly linked to decreased marital adjustment. In addition, there occurred crossover between partners' experiences. First, wives' psychological distress was negatively related to husbands' reports of marital adjustment and vice versa. Second, unemployment among men was directly linked to reports of marital adjustment among women: the longer the man's total spell of unemployment, the poorer the woman's marital adjustment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple approaches to the treatment of violent couples

Abstract

The relationship of the discrepancy between couple's actual level of intimacy and desired level of intimacy and marital adjustment was explored using data from 185 randomly selected couples who completed the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships and the Marital Adjustment Test. Multivariate and univariate regression analyses indicated that the discrepancy between actual and desired intimacy of husbands and wives was highly predictive of marital adjustment (R²=.665). Particularly interesting was that couples with low intimacy scores who did not desire more intimacy had good marital adjustment. The relationship between intimacy and marital adjustment was curvilinear, and wives' marital adjustment was more affected by intimacy than husbands'. Implications for marital therapy are discussed.     

The relationship between wives' estimates of time spent doing housework,support and wives' well-being

This study examines the relationship between the distribution of labour at home and employed women's psychological distress. The distribution of labour at home is measured by wives' estimates of their own and their husbands' time spent doing housework. It is hypothesized that what is more important to women's well-being is their estimates of their husbands' time spent doing housework rather than their own time. It is further hypothesized that one pathway in which wives' estimates of husbands' time spent doing housework influences their well-being is through perceptions of support. In a sample of 153 employed married women, using regression analyses, results are consistent with the predictions made. First, wives' estimates of their husbands' time spent doing housework is a better predictor of their well-being than their estimates of their own time spent. Second, support acts as a partial mediator in this relationship. These findings are discussed with respect to recent work in the area. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐esteem and caregiving in romantic relationships: Self‐ and partner perceptions

Self‐esteem may be associated with romantic partners' experience of emotional support and caregiving. Using a sample of 6,385 heterosexual couples in committed relationships gathered from the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE) data set (see www.relate‐institute.org ), structural equation modeling was used to compare two actor–partner interdependence models examining the associations between both partners' self‐esteem and perceptions of partner caregiving responsiveness (i.e., accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement). Male and female self‐esteem was significantly related to partners' caregiving responsiveness while controlling for family‐of‐origin attachment experiences and relationship stability. Female self‐esteem was also significantly associated with females' caregiving responsiveness. These findings yield important implications, demonstrating that higher self‐esteem may be associated with improved caregiving behaviors between romantic partners. Relevant implications and future research directions are discussed.