When Karen Rue was on the verge of accepting her first superintendent appointment 11 years ago, her husband Gary anticipated he might be asked to play the role of "first spouse," serving as informal ambassador for the school district. He was correct. Gary Rue, a retired physical education teacher, has willingly served as his wife's…

Although marital satisfaction starts high and declines for the average newlywed, some spouses may follow qualitatively distinct trajectories. Using 8 self-reports of satisfaction collected over 4 years from 464 newlywed spouses, we identified 5 trajectory groups, including patterns defined by high intercepts and no declines in satisfaction,…

Marriage and family therapy (MFT) faculty and graduate students rated the "typical" or predictable behaviors of husbands or wives coming for therapy using the Georgia Marriage Q-sort. Scores were compared with previously published scores for both "ideal" couples (i.e., showing positive behaviors, attitudes, and problem-solving skills) and a sample…

Transnational marriages account for a significant proportion of family-based immigration to North America. An increasing number of immigrant men are choosing to marry women from their countries of origin, and an increasing number of nonimmigrant men are choosing to marry women from other countries. Existing studies on the experiences of foreign…

Compares two statistical approaches for the analysis of data obtained from married couples. Summarizes a current multilevel (or hierarchical) model that has demonstrated usefulness in marital research and respecifies this model into a more familiar structural equation modeling formulation. (SLD)

Presents a structured enrichment workshop designed to facilitate marital intimacy, featuring three modules: (1) self-hood and differentiation; (2) communication of emotions; and (3) negotiation. Theoretical bases of each module are outlined, with special attention given to the role of sharing of hurt feelings as a primary dimension of intimacy.…

The Recovery of Hope divorce prevention program addresses the problem of couples entering marriage enrichment events whose distress levels indicated a need for therapy rather than enrichment. An ex post facto evaluation of 34 wives and 27 husbands indicated program completion appeared to assist couples in either improving their relationship or in…

Weak and counterintuitive findings linking couples' interactional processes to marital outcomes have prompted new lines of research on how marriages change. Recent findings reviewed here highlight the value of (a) expanding conceptions of marital interaction by considering how social support and positive affect moderate the effects of…

A number of unique challenges face the spouse of a forensic educator, including the possibility of becoming a forensic widow/widower. The job of a forensics coach is all-encompassing and requires endless hours of dedication, drive, and driving. Trying to keep up on all of the required duties is very time consuming and leaves little time for…

Explores how dyadic relationships can be affected when one partner suffers from genital herpes. Six patterns are described: When One Partner Does Not Know, The Compromise Relationship, The Enraged Partner, The Mark of Guilt, Problems in Risk Management, and Herpes Used as Weapon. Treatment strategies for dealing with patterns are offered.…

Examined the effects of a structured choice-awareness, marriage enrichment program on participants' marital satisfaction and self-concept. Meaningful trends in the predicted direction of increased marital satisfaction and increased self-concept were noted for the experimental group. (Author)

We model histories between two cohorts of urban Chinese couples (N=1,191) of a rarely studied living arrangement - coresidence with the wife's parents - using a dynamic life history analysis in contrast to previous cross-sectional studies of co-residence. We examine patterns of entry into and exit from co-residence with the wife's parents,…

This paper describes the use of a simple survey followed by discussion in an online sociology course to create a setting in which undergraduate students may learn about inequality from the study of everyday life. The method described in this paper relies on the common experience of a gendered household division of labor and on the use of…

Describes workshops developed to bring awareness of the dual-couple dilemma to students' attention and to teach coping skills for dealing with sources of conflict. Lists myths and facts drawn from interviews with dual-career couples. Describes three structured group exercises and two skill checklists. (RC)

Provides a brief summarization of 12 articles focusing on how gender, gender role identity, and attitudes toward gender roles may affect the nature of relationships, and how relationships may affect an individual's gender (including behaviors, attitudes, and self-perceptions). Although the focus is mainly on heterosexual relationships, lesbian/gay…