For a study of marital togetherness and apartness, the partners in 136 couples completed questionnaires. The role of disrespect, a factor serving as an abrasive in marriage, was investigated. Findings suggest that therapy for couples with a presenting problem of insufficient contact may first have to deal with abrasive factors. (Author)

Tested the hypothesis that practice has a positive effect on several kinds of student learning in a functional marriage course. The major finding in the data was that a workbook type of practice had a significant and important short-term and long-term effect on students' ability to apply abstract ideas. (Author)

This study was designed to analyze the extent to which different observers coded examples of communication positiveness in couple interactions. Husband's communication positiveness, wife's communication positiveness, and relationship adjustment were the multiple targets of observation. The data were collected from 27 couples who sought marital…

A study of dating behavior by McDaniel was replicated, using a single adult population instead of college undergraduates. The hypothesis stated that recreational dating was associated with peer orientation, low commitment and assertive behavior; that mate selection dating was associated with family orientation, medium commitment and…

Participants in this study were couples representing three employment groups. The first, mono-employed, consisted of couples with an employed husband and a wife who was at home full time. The dual employed group comprised an employed husband and wife, and the third group were employed husbands and wives both of whom had doctoral degrees.…

A role-sharing marriage is one in which the husband and wife share equally the rights and responsibilities traditionally assigned to one or the other sex as part of their ideal family role, in the areas of breadwinning, decisionmaking, and domestic chores. A marriage style based on sexual equality is rarely found in practice and subsequently has…

Based on previous research on cohabitation and Levinger's model of marital cohesiveness and dissolution, the hypothesis that a higher level of violence exists in ongoing marriages than in ongoing cohabitating relationships was investigated. Data from a national sample of 2,143 adults did not support this hypothesis. Instead the reverse was found,…

The primary objectives of this research are to define intimacy more distinctly (including what constitutes greater depth or higher levels of intimacy); to explore the changes across adult life; and most importantly, to assess the respective degree of association intimacy has with adaptation to life stress. A series of studies were undertaken to…

Identification of age differences as a major characteristic of satisfying heterosexual love relationships was investigated. Married couples (N=102), divided equally into three groups, i.e., young, middle-aged, and older adults, completed a 108-item instrument, rating each statement in terms of how well it described their current love relationship.…

The breakdown of marriage within American society is a serious problem as evidenced by high divorce rates and numerous separations and family problems. A Marriage Values Questionnaire, developed to determine reasons for marrying and staying married and the impact of religion on marital stability, was completed by 305 subjects, ranging in age from…

Marital satisfaction, involving 150 couples selected at-large and 40 couples in therapy, was investigated in two studies. An initial focus was the development of a 280-item Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) including one validity scale, one global affective scale, and nine additional scales focusing on specific areas of marital interaction.…