Analyzes communication behaviors of 10 abusive and 10 nonabusive couples discussing their daily routines. Identifies seven communication-based differences: vague versus precise language, opposition versus collaboration, relational versus content talk, despair versus optimism, interfering versus facilitating interdependence, complaints versus…

Studied effects of occupational status differences between spouses on the wife's employment and on her occupational achievement in European countries. Results show a tendency toward similarity in occupational status within marriages. Labor force participation of a wife is highest when her potential occupational status equals her husband's…

Spouses completed measures about self and relationship and were videotaped while interacting at home. Spouses reporting greater marital adjustment exhibited more positive engagement during couple discussion and greater harmony during family play. Older spouses displayed less positive engagement than younger couples. Greater hostility was observed…

An attempt was made to determine the challenges that may be encountered by intermarried couples who worship in a Greek Orthodox Church. Some couples described unresolved disagreements linked to their religious and cultural differences. Clinical implications suggest that intermarried couples' different religious and cultural backgrounds may be…

Identity theory model was tested with fathers (N=186) to assess whether commitment to the fathering role identity affected the psychological centrality of that role. Results showed that fathers who perceived that their wives evaluated them positively as fathers were more likely to report higher levels of involvement in child-related activities and…

Spouses working as superintendents confront agonizing logistics while establishing ground rules for dinner talk. Couples sharing the same career risk eclipsing their personal lives with professional issues. Having one's personal support network under the same roof can be mutually beneficial and synergistic. A married superintendents roster is…

Increasingly evident is the important role of partners in patients' adaptation to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Yet, little is known about partners' adaptation when patients reach the benchmark known as long-term survival. This study describes elderly wives of prostate cancer survivors' perspectives of adaptation to the enduring challenges…

To test a caregiving model of depression in spouses, 31 married couples completed interview and questionnaire assessments of depressive symptoms and caregiving activities. Spouses living with a partner with depressive symptoms had more symptoms of depression themselves. However, this association was found to be fully mediated by spouses' perceived…

This study examined associations between couple communication about cancer and psychological distress and relationship satisfaction of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. One hundred forty-eight couples completed a videotaped discussion of a cancer-related issue and a general issue. Patients completed measures of psychological distress…

Using path analysis and hierarchical linear modeling, the authors evaluated the associations between both partners' level of depression and anxiety, as measured by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) content scales, and both partners' level of marital satisfaction among married couples (N = 774) that participated in the MMPI…

In this study, the authors measured grief processing and deliberate grief avoidance and examined their relationship to adjustment at 4 and 18 months of bereavement for 2 types of losses (spouse, child) in 2 cultures (People's Republic of China, United States). Three hypotheses were compared: the traditional grief work assumption, a conditional…

The goal of the present study was to investigate perceived similarities and differences in parenting styles between mothers and fathers in the same family. The 56 parents of 28 preschool children independently completed the parenting styles and dimensions questionnaire (PSDQ) [Robinson, C. C., Mandleco, B., Frost Olsen, S., & Hart, C. H. (2001).…

We investigated the impact of relative marital power on 72 newlywed couples' endocrinological responses to marital conflict. Marital power was determined by comparing spouse's reports of dependent love for one another. Less powerful spouses displayed elevated adreno-corticotropic hormone ACTH responses to a conflict discussion. Shared power…

The literature on the predictors of the division of household labor continues to expand, but the effect of this division on family outcomes has not been explored. Using the German SocioEconomic Panel (N= 628), I analyze the effect of men's participation in housework and child care on the likelihood of second birth and divorce. Fathers' greater…

A growing literature examines the empirical relationship between the joint reproductive preferences of marital partners and reproductive outcomes in Africa. Less explored is how spousal power in decision making may be influenced by lineage type. Using pooled data from Ghana, we investigate how lineage affects gendered reproductive decision…