Retirement is a life cycle phase most couples can now expect to experience. Research on retirement has been directed primarily toward the impact of retirement on the retiree, rather than on the marital dyad. Qualitative and quantitative changes that women experience were investigated, with regards to their role as wife in response to their…

Four potential biases incurred by using a sample of wives of male respondents as a sample of women for sex comparisons of the occupational attainment process were examined and empirically assessed. Using data from the Wisconsin longitudinal study of high school seniors, the extent and nature of two potential biases were considered: (1) a sampling…

Describes counseling with military personnel who have battered their wives and includes referral procedures, assessment, and a group intervention. Associates group participation with increases in relationship skills and curtailed battering. (Author)

Using "talk time" measures of spouse/stranger interaction styles, tested models of communication. Concluded that (1) a spillover interactionist model best represented the talk time data; (2) sex had no apparent effect on speaking with either a spouse or a stranger; and (3) few personality variables predicted talk time, though relationship…

Examined the developmental trend of conflict from the initial recognition that the marriage may dissolve to its legal termination in 107 divorced persons using a retrospective interview. Conflict increased significantly from initial recognition to discussion and decreased significantly once action to secure a legal dissolution was initiated.…

Explored perceptions of caring for cognitively impaired spouses in 15 elderly spouses. Male and female caregiving spouses differed in how they perceived dimensions of control as reflected in interpretation of the disease process, assumption of authority, control over the environment, and use of social support. (Author)

Examined relationship between widow's sex role identity and adjustment to loss of a spouse by administering Bem Sex Role Inventory, certain scales of the Bell Adjustment Inventory, and the Carey Adjustment/Depression Scale for Widows to 45 widows. Significant between-group differences were found, suggesting a relationship between behavioral…

Investigated the idea of spatial arrangement as applied to married couples as a first step in the study of the diagnostic value of spatial relationships in family therapy. Showed that couples' space can be used to identify conflicted marital relationships and to differentiate between distressed and nondistressed couples on the basis of husbands'…

Susan Young, wife of the chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles, is seen as the quintessential college president's spouse, choosing to devote herself to her husband's job. She believes the female spouses of college presidents deserve more recognition and was instrumental in pressing for spouses' benefits. (MLW)

Presents results of empirical studies that contradict the popular conception of domestic violence as essentially a masculine form of assaultive behavior. Suggests that the popular view has contributed to men's increasing legal and social defenselessness. Discusses the appropriateness of psychotherapeutic approaches to the problem. (Author/KS)

Examined relationship between sex-role orientation and marital adjustment in 112 married couples. Spouses separately completed Bem Sex Role Inventory and Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results indicated that in general both androgynous and sex-typed individuals and their spouses were significantly higher in marital adjustment than were undifferentiated…

Examined how ten rural married couples adjusted to income loss. Husbands had been unemployed and were working for reduced wage at time of study. Interviews revealed five features of underemployment: interpretation of the situation, personal resources, health and stress, marital relationship, and family and social support. All but personal…

Developed and tested a multivariate model of marital adjustment among 92 couples in dual-earner marriages. For both genders, higher levels of occupational commitment by wives adversely affected marital adjustment, whereas both men and women perceived that marital adjustment was unaffected by the occupational commitment of husbands. (Author/NB)

Tested Kohn's theory that people who work in highly supervised, routinized occupations are likely to value obedience and conformity in marital and parental relationships. Findings from 244 couples revealed that working conditions were not strong predictors of division of household labor. Concludes that nontraditional gender role values,…

Describes a two-year treatment of a case of marital abuse. Used psychoanalytic and family systems theory to understand the processes contributing to the emergence of violence. Documents resistances to total change. (Author/ABB)