Partner Discrepancies in Distressed Marriages

ABSTRACT

Spousal discrepancy theory posits that partners with wide personality differences are at risk for marital distress. In this study, we assessed links between partner personality and interpersonal characteristics and marital distress in 244 couples who sought marital therapy. The sample was divided into three subgroups according to marital duration. Longer-married couples reflected significantly less impulsive, exploitive, and insensitive characteristics than couples in either shorter or intermediate marriages. Couples' marital distress was linked to larger discrepancies in personal distress, impulsivity, interpersonal insensitivity, and self-centered characteristics. While husbands' marital distress was linked to partner differences in personal distress and to impulsive, narcissistic, and competitive characteristics, wives' marital distress was primarily linked to partner discrepancies in self-centeredness.     

Facilitating marital intimacy through self-disclosure

Abstract

Intimacy is one of several interpersonal dimensions which describe the quality of a marital relationship. An operational definition of intimacy is presented. Evidence that a lack of intimacy is associated with nonpsychotic emotional illness, marital maladjustment and family dysfunction is reviewed. A technique is described which facilitates marital intimacy through self-disclosure. Evidence is presented that cognitive self-disclosure is a major determinant of a couple's level of intimacy. The assumption is made that facilitating cognitive self-disclosure will increase intimacy with subsequent improvement of neurotic symptoms and marital maladjustment. A case is presented which demonstrates that a structured technique for selfdisclosure of relevant assumptions in a reciprocal manner to a supportive listener can facilitate a couple's level of intimacy. The role of self-disclosure, modeling and cognitive restructuring as therapeutic factors are discussed.     

THERAPIST DEFENSIVENESS AND MARITAL THERAPY PROCESS AND OUTCOME

Abstract

This study examined the effect of couple socioeconomic status (SES); pretherapy marital adjustment; and therapist, husband, and wife defensiveness during the third session of marital therapy on posttherapy marital adjustment. Participants were 22 therapists and 88 couples. Each therapist treated 4 couples, 2 from the middle SES level and 2 from the lower SES level. Path analyses revealed that for husbands higher marital satisfaction before therapy was associated with higher adjustment at the end of therapy, but defensive therapist behavior during therapy was associated with lower posttherapy adjustment. A similar pattern was found for wives, but this should be interpreted with caution owing to potential dependencies in the wives' posttherapy adjustment scores. Neither SES nor pretherapy adjustment predicted therapist defensive behavior in therapy, and SES did not predict marital therapy outcome variance. Results suggest that therapist defensive behavior may reflect a style or characteristic of some marital therapists.     

Differentiation of Self Predicts Life Satisfaction through Marital Adjustment

Abstract

Previous studies have documented the link between differentiation of self and life satisfaction. However, the underlying mechanisms explaining these associations are yet to be tested at the dyadic level. This study examined the mediating role of marital adjustment in the association between differentiation of self and life satisfaction among 113 Turkish heterosexual married couples (N?=?226). Analyses using the Common Fate Model demonstrated that differentiation of self was associated with higher levels of marital adjustment and life satisfaction, such that marital adjustment was positively associated with life satisfaction, and in turn, marital adjustment fully mediated this association. Implications are discussed for clinicians and cross-cultural researchers who seek to promote greater life satisfaction by targeting both differentiation and marital adjustment.     

Intimacy maturity and its correlates in young married couples

Intimate relationships, like the individuals who participate in them, are conceived of as following developmental processes. Five dimensions of intimacy--that is, relationship orientation, caring-concern, commitment, sexuality, and communication--are identified, and an approach to assessing relationship maturity on each of these dimensions is described. In a study of 31 young married couples, scores on each dimension of intimacy maturity were analyzed in relation to gender, gender role (as assessed through an adaptation of the Bem Sex Role Inventory; Bem, 1974), and marital adjustment. There were no significant differences between husbands and wives on any of the intimacy or marital adjustment scales and only a marginal difference on one gender role scale (agency). Patterns of correlations among intimacy, marital adjustment, and gender role scores varied by gender. Not only do there appear to be two marriages (his and hers) in every marriage, but the correlates of these marriages also vary.     

Commitment: A variable in women's response to marital therapy

Abstract

The relationship between commitment to one's marriage at the onset of therapy and changes during marital therapy was examined. In a sample of 42 couples seeking marital therapy, wives' commitment level accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in marital satisfaction before therapy and gains in marital satisfaction resulting from therapy. In keeping with earlier findings, results for men were less striking, and often nonsignificant. The importance of considering the variable of commitment in marital research is discussed.     

Privacy and control: Are they related?

This study examines the relationship of privacy preference with sense of control over privacy, and the discrepancy between desired and actual privacy. Results indicate that (a) sense of control is a fairly good predictor of privacy preference, (b) most subjects report low actual privacy than desired, and the highest desired privacy was in the case of intimacy, (c) discrepancy between desired and actual privacy significantly relates to privacy preference, and sense of control was significantly related to the discrepancy between desired and actual privacy. The results suggest that the experience of control is a significant external correlate of privacy preference.     

The relationship of sexual adjustment and related sexual behaviors and attitudes to marital adjustment

Abstract

This paper examines the extent of relationship between sexual adjustment and marital adjustment for 30 married couples followed for 3–6 months. Sexual adjustment was assessed by means of the LoPiccolo-Steger Sexual Interaction Inventory, and two other measures termed a Couple Interaction Scale (CI) and a Couple Compatibility Ratio (CCR). Marital adjustment was assessed by means of the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale (L-W MAS) and a clinically-devised instrument based on the extent of support between the marital partners. The two marital adjustment instruments agreed closely. A high degree of association was obtained between most of the sexual adjustment measures and the two marital adjustment measures; using the most reliable of these measures, it is estimated that sexual adjustment contributed between 40 % and 55 % of the variance in marital adjustment. This association was not due to a specific stage of. the human sexual response cycle of desire, excitement, orgasm and gratification. Intercorrelation of measures of each of these stages with the marital adjustment measures generally yielded significant relationships.     

Understanding Marital Satisfaction and Couple Type as Functions of Relational Expectations

The present study examined the role played by relational expectations in determining marital satisfaction and in discriminating between married couple types. The discrepancy between one's expectations for his or her spouse's relational behavior and one's perceptions of his or her spouse's actual behavior significantly predicted marital satisfaction. Discrepancy scores for the relational dimensions of intimacy, distance, equality/ trust, dominance, and noncomposure/arousal appear to be most central in predicting satisfaction. While agreement between spouses on relational expectations significantly predicted satisfaction, expectation/perception discrepancies were revealed to be stronger predictors than agreement scores. There were no differences in relational expectations when compared across couple type; however, intimacy and noncomposure/arousal displayed significant differences when compared across wives’ individual marital type. Overall, intimacy, noncomposure/arousal, and equality/trust played central roles in understanding marital satisfaction.     

The Effect of Problem-Solving Based Family Therapy on Emotional Intimacy and Marital Quality of Cultural Couples in Tabriz

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of problem-solving based family therapy on the emotional intimacy and marital quality of cultural couples in Tabriz. The research method was quasi-experimental by designing the pretest and post-test with the experimental group. The statistical population of this research consisted of all cultural couples with marital problems referring to counseling centers of Tabriz Education in 2019. The research sample based on The Cochran formula consisted of 32 couples that were selected by purposeful sampling and were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group was exposed to 10 sessions of problem-solving based family therapy and the control group received no interventions. The research tool was the Marital Quality Index and the Intimacy Questionnaire, which was completed by both groups at the beginning and end of the intervention. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and inferential statistics of covariance analysis were also investigated. The results of covariance analysis showed that problem-solving based family therapy had a significant impact on the emotional intimacy and marital quality of cultural couples. Therefore, problem-solving based family therapy can be used as a treatment in couples with marital problems.     

The relationship between sex role identity and marital adjustment

One hundred forty-four maritally distressed clinic couples and 138 nonclinic couples participated in a study investigating the relationship between individual sex role identity and marital adjustment. Subjects completed Baucom's (1976) masculinity (MSC) and femininity (FMN) scales, and either the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS; Spanier, 1976) or the Marital Adjustment Scale (MAS; Locke & Wallace, 1959). As predicted, femininity was related to positive marital adjustment; masculinity was related as well, but perhaps to a lesser degree. Androgyny within a relationship was found to be highly desirable, whereas marriages involving undifferentiated individuals were more likely to be distressed.     

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.     

Daily Hassles,Intimacy, and Marital Quality in Later Life Marriages

This study addressed the relationship between daily stress, intimacy, and marital quality in mature marriages in which the ages of husbands and wives ranged from 55 to 75 years. Four hundred and seventy-two individuals married to each other and randomly sampled from all fifty states completed the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships, and the Hassles and Uplifts Scale. Findings indicated that daily stress was negatively related to marital quality for both wives and husbands, and that intimacy mediated the relationship between stress and marital quality for both husbands and wives. Implications for marriage and family therapy practice are explored.     

A sexual and a marital defensiveness scale for each sex

Abstract

A scale to measure defensiveness about the marital relationship and another to measure defensiveness about the sexual relationship of couples were developed for each sex. Defensiveness was defined as the tendency to endorse socially desirable items which are unlikely to occur and deny socially undesirable items which characterize most honest responders. The social desirability scale value of the items was empirically determined, and a traditional cross-validation design with two independent groups was used in the item analyses. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient ranged between. 75 and 93 for the male and female versions of the scales. The scales correlated higher with another defensiveness scale than with a social desirability scale. Clinicians' ratings of the items in the scales suggested that the scales were not diagnostic of sexual or marital psychopa-thology. Evidence is presented to support that these content specific scales surpass a global defensiveness scale as a measure of defensiveness regarding the sexual or marital relationship of couples.     

Dual trajectories of maternal parenting stress and marital intimacy during toddlerhood

Parenting stress disrupts both parenting and child adjustment. Marital intimacy is often conceptualized as a source of support that may reduce parenting stress. We examined the association between mothers' trajectories of parenting stress and marital intimacy when their children were 15–36 month old. We also explored whether maternal depressive symptoms at 15 months accounted for individual differences concurrently or in the trajectories of parenting stress and marital intimacy. Mothers' marital intimacy was negatively associated with their concurrent levels of parenting stress and declines in parenting stress over time. Depressive symptoms were associated with 15‐month parenting stress and marital intimacy. Overall, intimacy within the marriage appears to be a resource that reduces mothers' parenting stress during the toddler years     

Humor and Marital Satisfaction

Abstract

Fifty married Israeli couples were administered a humor test measuring humor creation and humor appreciation, as well as a questionnaire measuring marital satisfaction. Each spouse completed the measurement for self and for his or her partner. Results obtained showed that marital satisfaction was related to perception of the partner's humor more than the spouse's own humor. There was a significant relation for husbands between their scores on humor appreciation and their marital satisfaction. No relation was found for wives between their humor scores and their marital satisfaction. Multiple stepwise regressions on humor scores showed that complementarity between spouses' perceptions of partners' humor explains most of the variance of marital satisfaction.     

Spouse marital adjustment and patient dietary adherence in chronic hemodialysis: A Comparison of Afro-Americans and Caucasians

Abstract

This study investigated racial differences in the relationship between spouse marital adjustment and dietary adherence of chronic hemodialysis patients. Sixty-eight adult patients and their spouse were subjects. Fifty-two percent of the patients were Caucasians while 48% were Afro-Americans. Spouses completed the Locke-Marital-Questionnaire (LMQ) and provided demographic data pertaining to their patient spouses. The patients' predialysis potassium levels (indices of food intake compliance) for the previous three months were matched with the respective questionnaires. Afro-American spouses, especially males, evidenced significantly lower marital satisfaction than Caucasian spouses. Afro-American female patients seemed to be most compliant as far as food intake wasconcemed. Although the spouse LMQ score was negatively correlated with interdialysis weight gain. Afro-Americans who generally scored lower on the LMQ did not differ from Caucasians in so far as their adherence to the dietary regimen was concerned. Implications for improving quality of life of hemodialysis couples in general, and Afro-Americans in particular are discussed.     

Till depression do us part? Examining the prospective associations between depression and marital adjustment in older adults

IntroductionThe association between marital adjustment and depression in young couples is well established. However, little is known about the longitudinal associations between marital adjustment and depression in older adults.ObjectiveTo explore if such associations are significant in older adults and determine their direction of effects.MethodThe cross-sectional and 12-month prospective associations between diagnostic depression and marital adjustment in a representative sample of community-dwelling older adults (age ≥ 65 years, n = 847) from Quebec, Canada, were assessed through cross-lagged, multiple regression analyses.ResultsData suggest a cross-sectional association between marital adjustment and depression. As for longitudinal associations, marital adjustment predicted subsequent diagnostic depression but there was no support for the inverse path, suggesting a unidirectional relation between these variables.ConclusionWhile significant, the association between initial marital adjustment and later depression was weak. Based on our and previously reported findings, the importance of the prospective relations between marital quality and depression in older adults is discussed.