Drew on national sample of married persons interviewed three times over eight years. Found marital quality to be stable phenomenon. Marital happiness and interaction were both found to decline over time whereas divorce proneness, problems, and disagreements did not exhibit significant developmental change. Found no sex or duration differences in…

Discusses theoretical, conceptual, and methodological issues in research on marital quality and then selectively reviews research findings. Concludes that, although quantitative research on marital quality in the 1980s produced only a modest increment in understanding the causes and consequences of marital success, it laid foundation for greater…

Findings from interviews with 586 couples confirmed results of prior research which documented deleterious effects of depression on marriage; they did not support independent effect (either positive or negative) for concordance (when both spouses are depressed) on marital quality. Results provide evidence against general hypothesis that homogamy…

Examined factors that affect Honduran women's market sector participation and participation's impact on family level of living. Found differences between Honduran women in informal sector and in the formal sector, with women in the formal sector being younger and more likely to be married. Participation in either sector raised level of living for…

Presents theory and typology of marital quality. Outlines three-corners model--systems theory of the self-in-marriage. Describes seven types of marital relationships in terms of systems theory, including four variants of high-quality marriage. Highlights model through critical assessment of Lewis and Spanier's (1979) essay on marital quality and…

From longitudinal study of first years of marriage, aspects of joint narrative told by couple about their relationship were related to assessment of marital quality. Several narrative measures taken in first year of marriage predicted marital quality in third year over and above relevant social demographic and psychological variables. (Author/NB)

Examined antecedents of spousal support of husbands' work commitment from perspective of wives. Found spousal support influenced directly only by satisfaction with quality of life made possible by local work organization and length of involvement with organization. Marital and social adjustment, and perceptions of husband's work environment…

Examines the economic hardship that divorce entails. Wives are usually awarded custody of children without commensurate financial help from fathers and face other impediments in the labor market to higher pay and adequate employment opportunities. Policies dealing with these problems often center on income transfers and enforcement of child…

Examined data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate relationship between infant affect and quality of home environment. Found that infant irritability was negatively correlated with quality of home environment in both low-risk and high-risk families. Infant positive affect was more strongly related to quality of care in…

Expanded concept of family work to include emotion work as well as housework and child care. Survey data from 205 married women revealed that husbands' performance of emotion work, as compared to performance of both housework and child-care tasks, had strongest positive effect on wives' marital well-being. Emotion work was negatively related to…

Explored how wife's employment and gender-role attitudes of both spouses affect perceptions of marital quality of husbands and wives. Data from 452 married couples suggest that gender-role attitudes are more important than wife's employment characteristics in determining the perceived quality of marriages. Gender-role variables interacted with…

Used data on 1,298 married persons to examine effect of change in health over 3-year period on marital quality. Analysis suggests that decrements in health have adverse influence on marital quality. Changes in financial circumstances, shifts in division of household labor, declines in marital activities, and problematic behavior of afflicted…

Examined relative contributions of stress, social support, and family resources to quality of family life in domains of marital quality, parental satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Data from 810 adults revealed that demographic factors, support, and resource variables, and stress factors made significant and unique contributions to explanation…

Examined 76 late-life marriages in which one spouse was recuperating from a hospital stay. High satisfaction was found in most marriages, with spouses providing much support. Socioeconomic status, gender of caregiver, and level of disability of spouse had minimal impact on marital quality or social support potentials. (NRB)

Describes the individual consequences of family transitions. Suggests transitions, especially transitions out of marriage, are experienced as challenging and perhaps unpleasant. Widowhood was less consequential than expected. Changes in parental status had only trivial effects. Family transitions were found to affect individual evaluations of…