Interviewed 1,020 spouses in 1980 and 1983 to test implications of exchange theory for fertility decision. Results suggest significant nonlinear component to determinants of fertility, especially factors related to women's roles. Neither sex-role traditionalism nor wives' achievement in nonfamilial roles had simple negative effect on fertility;…

Examined strategies married couples used to maintain quality relationship. Assessed relationship of women's perceptions of maintenance activities within marriages to marital satisfaction. Found little relationship between marital satisfaction and strategy valuation. Wives' marital satisfaction was most strongly related to perceptions of frequency…

Examined quality of life in married couples. Found economic and noneconomic variables to cluster and show two paths for husbands and wives to satisfaction with quality of life. Path analysis revealed agreement over financial expenditures contributed to satisfaction with quality of life indirectly, through satisfaction with spouse for husbands and…

Compared correlates of retirement satisfaction for married and widowed rural women. Increase in voluntary association memberships and health were predictors of retirement satisfaction for both groups. Other predictors of satisfaction included financial adequacy, frequency and certainty of aid from friends for married women, and maintenance of…

Investigated adjustment to insulin-treated diabetes among 20 adult patients and spouses. Found illness-related perceptions of patients and spouses were positively correlated and discrepancies decreased with increasing duration of marriage after diagnosis. Marital satisfaction of spouses was negatively related to knowledge about diabetes,…

The purposes of this study were to explore the multiplicity of farm women's roles and to determine whether a particular role complex is related to life-style satisfaction. The role load of farm wives appeared to reduce life-style satisfaction. Marital happiness is independent of all variables. (JOW)

Compared impact of bereavement on mental health of survivors (N=108) of suicides of spouses with that of survivors of natural deaths (N=99) of spouses and with married non-bereaved adults (N=144). Both survivor groups scored poorer than non-bereaved group on all measures; suicide survivors reported anxiety more often than did natural death…

Under a new policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, spouses of the system president and chancellors can apply for the title "associate of the chancellor" and receive benefits such as business cards, library cards, travel expenses for university business, insurance coverage, etc. (MLW)

Research suggests that wife abuse may be significant precipitant of female suicide. Case studies and data from several societies suggest that if a woman's support group does not defend her when she is victimized, suicide may be form of revenge. Research focused on relationship between domestic violence and female suicide should be priority for…

High divorce and remarriage rates affect parental roles and child development. This research shows half of the ex-spouses share the parental role when the custodial parent is remarried. The quality of the stepfamily environment is explored. Divorced parents must put aside negative emotions in the interest of the child. (VM)

Interviewed 149 retired rural couples to examine conjugal role organization. Found that subjects showed a traditional, gender-differentiated division of household tasks, but that household role segregation decreased significantly after retirement; spouses made majority of decisions jointly; and spouses participated in large number of joint leisure…

Longitudinal study of 166 couples indicated wives' participation in labor force is not negatively related to size of families. The study, which used a key informant methodology, the LISREL model, and a recursive model, also indicated labor force participation of wives and family size are codetermined by achievement motivation, sex role norms, and…

Examined relationship between fathers and mothers in a self-help group of bereaved parents, including dynamics of couples already divorced, those who divorce within a few years after their child's death, and those who remain married. Results suggest that marital relationships are not separate from whole set of dynamics associated with the death of…

Indicates that husbands and wives were equally affected by (1) requests with various types of emotional disclosures, and (2) the emotional disclosures of different face-values. Reports that gender did not influence either the objective or subjective effectiveness of a request when it was reasonably appropriate for either males and females to…

Investigated the causes of happiness and unhappiness among spouses. Results indicated while marital happiness is the most important determinant of overall happiness, job satisfaction is the most important determinant of unhappiness. (Author/BL)