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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

The Communicated Perspective‐Taking Rating System and links to well‐being in marital conflict

Research highlights the importance of perspective taking as a cognitive ability. A growing body of research also suggests that communicated perspective taking (CPT)—or how interactional partners acknowledge, attend to, and confirm each others' perspectives during interactions—enables collaborative sense‐making of shared difficulties with significant links to individual and relational health. The purpose of the current study was to further operationalize the construct and to test the relation between CPT and well‐being in married couples' (n = 80) conversations about conflict. The Communicated Perspective‐Taking Rating System (CPTRS) was developed and tested as a reliable observational system. Findings indicate that husbands' CPT predicted wives' relational satisfaction, and wives' CPT predicted husbands' relational satisfaction. Implications and future applications of the CPTRS are discussed.     

Relational Turbulence Theory: Explaining Variation in Subjective Experiences and Communication Within Romantic Relationships

This essay extends the relational turbulence model as a framework for understanding communication in romantic relationships. Following the relational turbulence model, relational turbulence theory identifies relational uncertainty and interdependence as parameters that shape subjective experiences, but the theory clarifies the theoretical processes underlying their distinctive effects. In addition, relational turbulence theory articulates causal processes linking cognitive appraisals and emotions to communication. Relational turbulence theory also describes how episodes characterized by biased appraisals, intense emotions, and volatile communication coalesce into global evaluations of relationships as turbulent. In turn, the theory addresses the effect of relational turbulence on personal, relational, and social outcomes. Finally, the theory explains how communication can contribute to the development of both turbulence and resilience in romantic relationships.     

Relational turbulence among military couples after reunion following deployment

Reintegration following deployment is a pivotal time for returning service members and at‐home partners. We test logic derived from the relational turbulence model about depressive symptoms, relational uncertainty, and interference from a partner as predictors of people's appraisals of turmoil during the post‐deployment transition. Participants were 118 military couples who completed an online questionnaire once per month for the first 3 months after homecoming. Multilevel models predicting people's appraisals of turmoil revealed (a) actor and partner effects of depressive symptoms, (b) actor effects of relational uncertainty, and (c) actor effects of interference from a partner that were apparent beyond people's appraisals of turmoil during the previous month. These findings advance both theory and practice.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Coupling Longitudinal Data and Multilevel Modeling to Examine the Antecedents and Consequences of Jealousy Experiences in Romantic Relationships: A Test of the Relational Turbulence Model

We used longitudinal data and multilevel modeling to examine how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and failed attempts at interdependence influence emotional, cognitive, and communicative responses to romantic jealousy, and how those experiences shape subsequent relationship characteristics. The relational turbulence model ( Solomon & Knobloch, 2004 ) highlights how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference from partners influence and reflect reactions to events that occur within romantic relationships. Drawing from the theory, we predicted that (a) relational uncertainty and interference from partners are positively associated with cognitive and emotional jealousies; (b) the intensity of romantic jealousy, relational intimacy, and a partner’s interference is positively associated with the directness of communication about jealousy; (c) relational uncertainty is negatively associated with communicative directness; and (d) cognitive jealousy, emotional jealousy, and the directness of communicative responses to jealousy influence subsequent relationship characteristics. The results of the multilevel modeling revealed mixed support for our predictions. We explore the implications of this study for research on the relational turbulence model, relationship development, and jealousy.     

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.     

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.     

Perceived involvement of network members in courtships: A test of the relational turbulence model

We seek to understand how the climate of courtship predicts people’s appraisals of the behavior of close friends and family members. To that end, we employ the relational turbulence model to examine the associations among intimacy, relational uncertainty, interference and facilitation from partners, and perceived network involvement. We conducted a cross‐sectional study in which 260 participants reported their perceptions of how much network members help and hinder their courtships. As we hypothesized, people perceived the least helpfulness and the most hindrance from network members at moderate levels of intimacy. Relationship uncertainty mediated the concave curvilinear association between intimacy and perceived helpfulness from network members, but interference from partners mediated the convex curvilinear association between intimacy and perceived hindrance from network members. We discuss how our findings (a) contribute to the literature on perceived network involvement, (b) illuminate nuances in perceived hindrance from network members, (c) extend the relational turbulence model, and (d) suggest the utility of educating people about how the climate of courtship may color their views of network members.