In the past decade, the federal government, some states, and numerous communities have initiated programs to help couples form and sustain healthy marriages and relationships in order to increase family stability for children. Thus, the authors value the attention given to this emerging policy area by the "American Psychologist" in a recent…

Using a multistate sample of marriages that took place in the 1990s, this study examined associations between premarital cohabitation history and marital quality in first (N = 437) and second marriages (N = 200) and marital instability in first marriages (intact N = 521, divorced N = 124). For first marriages, cohabiting with the spouse without…

One hundred couples were followed for 13 years from the premarital period well through the primary risk period for divorce. Results of discriminant analysis indicated that couples who remain satisfied, become distressed, and divorce can be reliably classified on the basis of premarital data. Further, both previously identified demographic risk…

Premarital cohabitation has consistently been found to be associated with increased risk for divorce and marital distress in the United States. Two explanations for this "cohabitation effect" are discussed: selection and experience. We present an empirically based view of how the experience of cohabitation may increase risk for…

First-time parents completed questionnaires 3 months before childbirth and 1 and 9-10 weeks after birth. Found that 39 Lamaze-trained couples reported similar levels of marital satisfaction, state anxiety, and birth-related problems at all testings, while 37 non-Lamaze trained couples showed decreases in marital satisfaction and increases in…

Mexican American women have higher fertility rates and higher divorce rates than does the general population of the United States. In light of these data and the documented negative effects of marital distress and divorce on spouses, Mexican American women appear to be at risk for psychological stress. To provide some insight into the marital…

Premarital and postbirth indices of parent's marital relationship were related to child functioning. For mothers, high satisfaction, low conflict, and high communication quality were related to child security of attachment and dependency. For fathers, higher levels of premarital conflict and lower levels of communication quality were positively…