Explored stressors that accompany experience of involuntary childlessness and examined mediators of adjustment to infertility in married individuals. Data showed deleterious effect that coping with infertility can have on couple's sexual relationship. Findings suggest important relationship between self-esteem, marital commitment, and positive…

Examined relationship between depression, marital satisfaction, and marital and personality measures of sex roles in 50 couples in which woman was clinically depressed and 24 nondepressed, nondistressed control couples. Found that, compared to nondepressed couples, couples in which woman was depressed showed greater inequality in decision-making.…

Conducted two studies to investigate marital satisfaction and egocentric bias in spouses' perceived contributions to activities in marriage. Results from 40 spouses indicated that spouses claimed to make greater contributions to negative relationships events than their partners attributed to them. Results from 50 spouses replicated findings.…

Examined marital therapy strategies of reflection and reframing on spouses' immediate patterns of relating, and investigated therapists' choice of technique immediately following different spousal interactions. Coded 628 pre- and post-intervention sequences from 13 therapy cases. Therapists chose reflection following defensive behaviors; reframing…

Investigated gender differences in extent to which individuals are altruistically other-oriented in their intimate heterosexual relationships. Data from married and single college students suggest that men are more altruistically other-oriented toward their partners than are women. Altruistic other-orientation appeared to be encouraged by…

Presents model of marital interactions based on nature of fit between each spouse's belief systems, particularly those related to fears inherent in intimacy. Proposes that such interactions can be belief-confirming, lead to alienation, conflict, or unhappiness; or belief-disconfirming, leading to intimacy, successful conflict resolution, and…

Reviewed cases of 103 couples seen in systems-oriented marital therapy to identify outcome and treatment issues as a function of marital paradigm. Found 92 percent of the 38 cases where both partners identified with the same basic paradigm were judged to be treatment successes, while only 60 percent of the cases with different paradigms were…

Suggests that prominent themes in the conversations of spouses are metacommunication about relationships. Compares content themes of different marital types (traditional, separate, and independent) and more or less satisfied spouses. Finds marital satisfaction tends to be positively associated with communal and impersonal themes and negatively…

Examined the impact of completed suicide on the surviving family, comparing widows (N=13) whose husbands had died through suicide to widows (N=13) whose husbands had died in accidents. Found suicide survivors showed no more family dysfunction, life stress, or psychiatric symptomatology than accident survivors. (Author/ABL)

Explored relationship between participation of married women in labor force and suicide and homicide rates in United States. Found women's labor force participation related to homicide rates, with homicide rates higher in states where greater percentage of married women worked full-time. Suicide rates were more strongly related to indices of…

Examined relationships between work role characteristics, family structure demands, and work/family conflict, using data from 757 married men and 270 married women. Found that amount and scheduling of work time, job demands, and presence of children in home were related to work/family conflict. Work role characteristics and family structure…

Fifty-three partner-abusive men, 45 maritally satisfied, and 32 maritally discordant, nonviolent men were evaluated for past history of head injury. Logistic regressions confirmed head injury was significant predictor of being a batterer. Implications of findings for both marital aggression and posthead injury rehabilitation are discussed. (Author)

A model specifying that certain subjective beliefs and structural conditions affect the symbolic meaning wives give to their household labor divisions was tested on 144 retirement-age married women. Results indicate that wives perceive less spousal support when housework divisions are more unequal, and that this lack of spousal support leads to…

Explored marital adjustment and the effects of illness in a sample of 46 married couples in which 1 or both spouses are chronically ill. The levels of cohesion obtained across all spouse pairs indicate exceptionally tight bonding between spouses; however, the level of consensus suggests conflict, disagreement, and strife. (JPS)

Twenty-seven married couples completed Adult Attachment Interview, were rated as secure or insecure with respect to attachment, and completed measures of marital satisfaction. Found that self-reported marhdal satisfaction was not related to adult attachment classifications. Insecure-secure and secure-secure dyads did not differ, but both groups…