This theoretical essay outlines the hermeneutic of Divine relationship, a theological lens through which Christians can develop a deeper appreciation for God's inherently relational nature and desire to be in relationship with all of humanity. In addition to the nature of God, this hermeneutic highlights the nature of human persons, sin and…

Using typologies outlined by Gottman and Fitzpatrick as well as institutional and companionate models of marriage, the authors conducted a latent class analysis of marital conflict trajectories using 20 years of data from the Marital Instability Over the Life Course study. Respondents were in one of three groups: high, medium (around the mean), or…

Although arranged marriage has survived in India, the custom is increasingly challenged by the current influx of new commodities, media, and ideas. Interviews with 15 male and 15 female unmarried professionals, age 22 to 29, in Vadodara, Gujarat, showed that educated youth have moved beyond the conventional love-versus-arranged marriage dichotomy.…

Objective: We review all available controlled outcome studies of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) to evaluate evidence of its effectiveness. Method: Forty-three studies were located and key data abstracted on problem, setting, SFBT intervention, design characteristics, and outcomes. Results: Thirty-two (74%) of the studies reported…

We extend research on black-white gaps in the subjective quality of life by exploring recent General Social Survey data, focusing attention on Latinos, and probing the value of partial proportional odds models for ordinal quality-of-life measures. Results indicate a declining but discernable black-white gap for four measures--marital happiness,…

The present study explores actor and partner effects on mothers' and fathers' cognitive stimulation within an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). This model allows us to evaluate whether mothers' and fathers' practices are impacted not only by their own experiences but also by their partners' experiences. The APIM treats the couple as the…

The positive link between marriage and physical and psychological well-being is well established, but whether marriage is associated with social well-being is not. Using nationally representative data from the MIDUS study (N = 3,032), the present study examines the degree to which there are marital status differences in perceived social…

Objective: This study investigated the association between hostility and health and whether it is moderated by the quality of an individual's primary romantic relationship. Method: Longitudinal data were provided by 184 African Americans, including 166 women. Participants averaged 38 years old and were married or in long-term marriagelike…

We examined factors related to attitudes toward marriage and the importance of having children in both the US and Singapore. Path analysis indicated that life dissatisfaction leads to materialism, and both of these factors lead to favorable attitudes toward marriage, which leads to greater desire for children. Further analysis indicated this model…

This study reports preliminary findings regarding the feasibility and efficacy of a novel couple-based treatment, named Strategic Approach Therapy (SAT), for reducing avoidance symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Six male Vietnam combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD and their cohabitating marital partners participated in 10 weeks of…

Prior research indicates that the married enjoy higher levels of well-being than the unmarried, including unmarried cohabiters. Yet, comparisons of married and unmarried persons routinely exclude partnered gays and lesbians. Using a large probability sample, this study assessed how the well-being of partnered gays and lesbians (282) compares with…

An important paradox of the happiness literature is the apparent disconnect between economic growth and happiness, referred to as the "Easterlin Paradox." Although real income has grown over the last thirty years, happiness has stagnated or perhaps even declined. There are a variety of explanations for this. Some emphasize psychological…

During the transition to motherhood, women typically show favorable psychological adjustment after the first child is born, whereas 10 percent to 26 percent of women are at risk of developing clinically significant postpartum depressive symptoms. Little is known about which individuals are especially protected against the emergence of postpartum…

The authors investigate the direction of the relationship between marital happiness and wives' full-time employment using the 1987 to 1988 and 1992 to 1994 waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. First, the authors predict change in wives' employment between the two waves using marital happiness and other Time 1 characteristics.…

The Couples Emotion Rating Form assesses 3 types of negative emotion that are salient during times of relationship conflict. Hard emotion includes feeling angry and aggravated, soft emotion includes feeling hurt and sad, and flat emotion includes feeling bored and indifferent. In Study 1, scales measuring hard and soft emotion were validated by…