Gender differences in marital quality and well-being in Chinese married adults

The present study addressed the issue of gender differences in marital quality and well-being in Chinese married men (N= 738) and women (N= 761). The results showed that males had significantly higher scores on the Chinese Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Chinese Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. While a longer duration of marriage was associated with higher levels of dyadic consensus and affectional expression in men, the duration of marriage was negatively related to marital adjustment and marital satisfaction in women. The data also showed that women displayed more psychiatric symptoms and midlife crisis problems and they had lower levels of positive mental health and perceived health status than men. While marital quality was positively related to well-being in both men and women, the impact of marital quality on well-being was generally found to be greater in women than in men.