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.     

Attachment style,communication patterns,and satisfaction across the life cycle of marriage

Questionnaire measures of attachment, communication patterns, and relationship satisfaction were administered to 361 married couples, sampled across the life cycle of marriage. Individuals who were secure in attachment (defined in terms of comfort with closeness and low anxiety over relationships) tended to be paired with secure spouses. Security of attachment was associated with one's own relationship satisfaction, although husbands' satisfaction was related primarily to the anxiety dimension. The most consistent effect of partners' attachment was an inverse relationship between wives' anxiety and husbands' satisfaction. The negative effect of wives' anxiety on perceived relationship satisfaction (for both partners) was evident primarily for couples in which husbands were uncomfortable with closeness. The association between attachment dimensions and relationship satisfaction was largely mediated by communication patterns for wives, but only partially mediated by communication patterns for husbands; for both husbands and wives, a measure of mutually constructive communication emerged as the strongest correlate of satisfaction. These findings were generally consistent across the life cycle of marriage, and they are important in clarifying the nature of the link between attachment and satisfaction in a broad sample.     

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.     

THE RELATIONSHIP OF ‘EXCHANGE-ORIENTATION’ AND ‘COMMITMENT’ SCALES TO MARRIAGE ADJUSTMENT*

Believing that “exchange” and “commitment” are basic dimensions associated with marriage adjustment (MA), scales measuring these three dimensions were administered to 40 married couples. Exchange was predicted to be negatively correlated with MA, commitment positively associated with it, and an individual's exchange and commitment qualities were predicted to affect his partner's MA. The hypotheses were all supported. Further analyses, however, revealed that husbands' MA was more strongly associated with their own exchange and commitment scores than those of their wives. However, wives' MA was equally associated with their own and their husbands' exchange and commitment scores. The implications of this finding for women's position in marriage are discussed.     

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.     

Dyadic processes of relational turbulence theory

This study tested dyadic processes of relational turbulence theory (RTT) in heterosexual marriages. We tested propositions 1, 2, and 5 of RTT, which propose that uncertainty about the marriage biases cognitive appraisals, and that interference from a partner heightens negative emotions, both of which culminate in relational turbulence for spouses. Guided by these propositions, husbands' and wives' (N = 510; 255 marital dyads) dyadic cognitive and emotional processes were estimated using the actor-partner interdependence mediation model. Consistent with theoretical propositions, we found evidence for actor-actor indirect effects; for both husbands and wives (a) the effect of spouses' relationship uncertainty on their own relational turbulence was mediated by their own biased cognitive appraisals, and (b) the effect of spouses' experienced interference on their own relational turbulence was mediated by their own anger from communicating in the marriage. However, controlling for actor-actor indirect effects, partner-defined processes (i.e., actor-partner and partner-actor indirect effects) uniquely explained husbands' and wives' relational turbulence.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Type A Behavior and Marital Dissatisfaction: Disentangling the Effects of Achievement Striving and Impatience-Irritability

Previous research has documented an association between overall Type A behavior and marital dissatisfaction. The present study examines the nature of this relationship when a two dimensional approach to Type A behavior is adopted, and impatience-irritability and achievement striving are assessed separately. Subjects were 134 medical practitioners and specialists and their wives in South Africa. As predicted, husbands' impatience-irritability was associated with their own and their wives' marital dissatisfaction. However, neither their achievement striving nor global Type A behavior correlated with their own or their wives' marital dissatisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of the need for isolating the specific component of Type A behavior that is associated with marital dissatisfaction.     

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.     

Perceived justice in the division of domestic labor: Actor and partner effects

This study analyzed the division of domestic labor as a relational phenomenon. Using structural equation modeling with data of dual‐earner couples from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (N = 389), actor and partner effects of perceived distributive and procedural justice in the division on relationship satisfaction were investigated. Experience of relationship conflict was considered as possible mediator between perceived justice and relationship satisfaction. Results with actor effects indicate that perceived justice is relevant only to wives' but not to husbands' relationship satisfaction. Results with partner effects, however, show that wives' perceived justice is associated with husbands' relationship satisfaction through the relationship conflict experienced by husbands. Altogether, this study illustrates the importance of considering the relational character of the division of domestic labor.     

Emotional arousal and negative affect in marital conflict: the influence of gender,conflict structure,and demand‐withdrawal

This report covers two studies that examined how spouses' emotional arousal and negative affect in response to marital conflict are shaped by gender, conflict structure, and demand‐withdraw communication. In Study 1, 86 couples participated in a video analogue presentation procedure, and in Study 2, 32 couples participated in an observational methodology. In both studies, spouses' evaluative reports of their emotional arousal and negative affect were collected within two experimental conditions in which either the husband's or the wife's issue was discussed. In both studies, husbands—but not wives—reported lower levels of post‐interaction arousal and negative affect in the wife's issue condition than in the husband's issue condition. In both studies, husbands' as well as wives' level of emotional arousal was positively associated with their level of negative affect. In Study 2, husbands who were less demanding and more withdrawing during marital conflict were less aroused after the discussion. In contrast, wives reported more emotional arousal and negative affect as they were more withdrawing and less demanding, respectively. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DECISION MAKING ABOUT ADVANCE DIRECTIVES BY MARRIED WOMEN

One goal of this exploratory study was to describe the experiences of 41 wives engaged in a congregationally based educational program promoting the discussion of advance directives (ADs). Other goals were to explore whether marital commitment was an antecedent for engaging in AD discussions, as well as whether it was positively associated with wives' increased trust that their husbands would carry out their AD preferences. Eighty percent of the wives discussed ADs with their husbands, and 44% revised/signed an AD. Slightly over half of the couples discussed ADs for 1 hour or less.There was marginal support for the hypothesis that there would be a positive association between wives' discussing ADs with their husbands and marital commitment. There was strong support for the hypothesis that wives' level of commitment would be positively associated with their trust that their husbands would carry out their AD preferences.     

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.     

The Effect of Communication Change on Long‐term Reductions in Child Exposure to Conflict: Impact of the Promoting Strong African American Families (ProSAAF) Program

African American couples (n = 331) with children, 89% of whom were married, were assigned to either (a) a culturally sensitive couple‐ and parenting‐enhancement program (ProSAAF) or (b) an information‐only control condition in which couples received self‐help materials. Husbands averaged 41 years of age and wives averaged 39 years. We found significant effects of program participation in the short term on couple communication, which was targeted by the intervention, as well as over the long term, on self‐reported arguing in front of children. Long‐term parenting outcomes were fully mediated by changes in communication for wives, but not for husbands. For husbands, positive change depended on amount of wife reported change. We conclude that wives' changes in communication from baseline to posttest may be more pivotal for the couples' long‐term experience of decreased arguing in front of children than are husbands' changes, with wives' changes leading to changes in both partners' reports of arguments in front of children.     

Sex role stereotyping in women with agoraphobia and their husbands

Thirty-two married women with Diagnostic Statistical Manual (3rd edition, revised) diagnosis of agoraphobia and their husbands were compared with 32 matched control women and their husbands on self-report measures of sex role stereotyping, psychological symptoms, personality, and marital adjustment. The experimental women scored significantly lower than the control women on the sex role measure of Autonomy and significantly higher on Intropunitiveness. Significant inverse correlations occurred between women's self-ratings of Masculinity and Autonomy and their agoraphobic symptoms. In the experimental couples, but not the control couples, significant and substantial disagreements occurred on ratings of each other's Masculinity and Autonomy, and husbands' marital satisfaction correlated strongly with wives' self-rating of Femininity. The findings justify further study of sex role stereotyping in agoraphobia, especially where the syndrome coexists with marital dissatisfaction and/or personality disorder.