Marital Quality and Divorce Decisions: How Do Premarital Cohabitation and Nonmarital Childbearing Matter?

This study used the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,481) to test whether the association between marital quality and divorce is moderated by premarital cohabitation or nonmarital childbearing status. Prior research identified lower marital quality as a key explanation for why couples who cohabit or have children before marrying are more likely to divorce than other couples. Using event history and fixed‐effects models, we found that the effect of marital quality on divorce is similar for cohabitors and noncohabitors, with cohabitors more likely to end both high‐ and low‐quality marriages. In contrast, the relationship between marital quality and divorce is weaker for women with nonmarital births; they are less likely than others to dissolve low‐quality marriages. We discuss how commitment norms and self‐efficacy might explain these differences in the association between marital quality and divorce.     

Marital Satisfaction among Dual‐Earner Couples: Gender Ideologies and Family‐to‐Work Conflict

This study examines whether the gender ideologies of both spouses moderate how family‐to‐work conflict relates to marital satisfaction among dual‐earner couples. The authors address the research questions using data from a random sample of dual‐earner couples from the northern part of a western state (N = 156 couples). Findings indicate that husbands' gender ideologies moderate how husbands' and wives' family‐to‐work conflict relate to husbands' marital satisfaction. Additionally, husbands' gender ideologies moderate how husbands' family‐to‐work conflict relates to wives' marital satisfaction. In contrast, wives' gender ideologies do not appear to moderate how either spouse's family‐to‐work conflict relate to marital satisfaction. The implications of the study for practitioners, including explicitly talking about gender beliefs with clients and the potential promise of feminist‐informed therapy, are discussed.     

Shared Religious Beliefs,Prayer, and Forgiveness as Predictors of Marital Satisfaction

Results of numerous studies have demonstrated a positive relation between religiosity and marital well‐being. In this study, the authors examined direct effects on marital satisfaction of religious homogamy, prayer for spousal well‐being, and forgiveness. They also examined the degree to which religiosity buffered against risks to marital well‐being. The results indicated significant positive linear relations between each indicator of religiosity and marital satisfaction. Furthermore, religiosity moderated, or buffered against, the negative effects of risk factors; specifically, religious homogamy buffered against previous divorce; prayer buffered against having a high‐stress marriage; and spousal forgiveness buffered against cohabitation before marriage, previous divorce, and stressful marriage.     

How Religiosity Helps Couples Prevent,Resolve, and Overcome Marital Conflict*

Abstract: This study reports on in‐depth interviews with 57 highly religious, middle‐aged married couples representing the major Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) residing in New England and Northern California. The study uses grounded theory methods to create themes and a model describing the ways that religiosity influences marital conflict. Couples reported that religiosity affects the conflict in their marriage at three phases of the conflict process: (a) problem prevention, (b) conflict resolution, and (c) relationship reconciliation. Practitioners may assist religious couples that are struggling with marital conflict by encouraging them to look to religious beliefs and practices.     

Perceived Spousal Religiosity and Marital Quality Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

The relationship between the perceived religiosity of one's spouse and marital quality varies across racial and ethnic groups (i.e., Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and non‐Hispanic Whites) in the United States. In this study, data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of married Americans (N = 1,162). Although perceived spousal religiosity predicted higher marital quality across all racial and ethnic groups, this effect was stronger for Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics than for Whites. Compared to Whites, the 3 racial and ethnic minority groups experienced a larger boost in frequency of expressive forms of love as perceived spousal religiosity increased. This effect was also found regarding marital satisfaction for Asians and Blacks relative to Whites, but not for Hispanics. Moreover, although racial and ethnic minorities tended to report lower marital quality than Whites at low levels of perceived spousal religiosity, their marital quality tended to be higher than Whites at high levels of perceived spousal religiosity. Three‐way interactions indicated that these trends hold regardless of gender.     

Changes in the marital relationship during the first pregnancy

Some scholars who have studied the impact of the first pregnancy on marital relationships have emphasized the increase in marital strain, while others have emphasized pregnancy's beneficial effects. To clarify the nature of changes in couples’ relationships during the first pregnancy, couples in the first trimester (n = 48) and last trimester (n = 52) were compared on aspects of their relationships that reflected marital strain or strength: conflict, ambivalence, love, maintenance, time together, and marital satisfaction. Results were inconsistent with either an entirely negative or positive view of the effects of pregnancy on marriage. Despite greater discussion of relationship issues and possibly greater conflict, spouses in late pregnancy reported feeling more love. No differences were found in time together or marital satisfaction between the early and late groups. When couples were classified according to gender‐role attitudes, the most traditional couples showed the most negative interaction. The importance of differentiating behavioral from subjective aspects of relationships is stressed.     

The Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET): A new approach to prevention of marital distress based upon stress and coping*

We describe a distress prevention training program for couples and three empirical studies that support its effectiveness. The program, Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET), is based both upon stress and coping theory and research on couples. In addition to traditional elements of couples programs (e.g., communication and problem‐solving skills), the CCET also addresses individual and dyadic coping in promoting marital satisfaction and reducing marital distress. The CCET enjoys good consumer acceptance. Outcome results indicate that, in addition to acquiring relationship skills, participants experienced reduced martial distress and increased marital satisfaction, even among couples who have been in long‐standing relationships where dissatisfaction exists.     

Dyadic Processes in Early Marriage: Attributions,Behavior, and Marital Quality

Marital processes in early marriage are important for understanding couples' future marital quality. Spouses' attributions about a partner's behavior have been linked to marital quality, yet the mechanisms underlying this association remain largely unknown. When we used couple data from the Family Transitions Project (N = 280 couples) across the first 4 years of marriage, results from actor‐partner interdependence modeling demonstrated that early marriage responsibility attributions were associated with marital quality 4 years later after controlling for initial marital quality. Further, couples' warm and hostile behavior 2 years into the marriage mediated the attribution‐marital quality association. The results suggest that interventions designed to facilitate change in romantic relationships may benefit from addressing attributions for the partner's behavior, in addition to changing behaviors, as part of a dyadic process unfolding across time.     

In God We Trust: Qualitative Findings on Finances,Family, and Faith From a Diverse Sample of U.S. Families

Employing qualitative interviews with a diverse national sample of 184 religious families (N = 445 individuals), we present an in‐depth look at how participants (a) view and frame their faith‐based financial giving, (b) how they contribute to and receive from their faith communities, and (c) how the blending of faith and finances influences their marital and parental relationships.     

Early Family Ties and Marital Stability Over 16 Years: The Context of Race and Gender

Spouses' emotional ties to family early in marriage are linked to marital outcomes, but little is known about how these ties affect marital stability and whether these effects vary by race and gender. The present study examines the links between emotional ties to family of origin and in‐laws in the first year of marriage and marital stability over the first 16 years of marriage. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal study following Black American (n = 199) and White American (n = 174) married couples. Analyses revealed that perceptions of closeness to in‐laws early in marriage were associated with odds of divorce over time, but the results varied by race and gender. Findings are discussed in terms of couples' ties to family early in marriage and the role that in‐law bonds play for marital stability. We also offer insights for practitioners who provide premarital and marital education and counseling services to couples.     

Examining the Relationship Between Financial Issues and Divorce

Using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Families and Households and both wife‐ and husband‐reported data (N = 4,574 couples), this study examined how financial well‐being, financial disagreements, and perceptions of financial inequity were associated with the likelihood of divorce. When financial disagreements were in the model, financial well‐being was not associated with divorce. Both wives' and husbands' financial disagreements were the strongest disagreement types to predict divorce. Mediators derived from systems theory (conflict tactics) and social exchange theory (marital satisfaction) fully mediated the association between financial disagreement and the hazard of divorce. Finally, financial disagreements fully mediated the association between perceptions of financial inequity and divorce. These findings suggest that financial disagreements are stronger predictors of divorce relative to other common marital disagreements. They further suggest that financial disagreements (e.g., “content”) are associated with marital process.     

Debt Change and Marital Satisfaction Change in Recently Married Couples*

Abstract: Although recently married couples report debt as one of their top concerns, research has not measured how debt changes relate to changes in their marital satisfaction. Further, the mechanisms that link debt and marital satisfaction are unknown. Findings using the National Survey of Families and Households (N= 1,078 couples) demonstrated that consumer debt changes predicted recently married couples’ marital satisfaction changes. Changes in variables associated with couples achieving their marital expectations (e.g., spending time together, arguing about finances) partially explained these findings. Changes in consumer debt negatively predicted couples’ time together and positively predicted arguments over money, which in turn were both associated with declines in marital satisfaction.     

Complexities of Informal Social Support Arrangements for Black Lesbian Couples

This qualitative study examined how Black lesbian couples receive informal social support from their social networks. Guided by an integrated framework of symbolic interactionism and Black feminist theory, interviews were conducted with 11 Black lesbian couples (22 individuals) in committed relationships. Using grounded theory methodology, it was found that Black lesbian couples received informal social support from different sources, but that this support was provided to individuals as a means of sustaining individuals' roles as daughters and mothers. Although extended families actively fulfilled perceived family obligations, they negated the existence of lesbian individuals' sexual identity, intimate relationships, and families built with lesbian partners. Friends, church communities, and gay and lesbian communities did not validate Black lesbian couplehood or families headed by Black lesbian couples, but served as supportive sites for individuals. Black lesbian couples responded to social invisibility by engaging in self‐validating processes and limiting access to their families.     

A Study of Expectations and the Marital Quality of Participants of a Marital Enrichment Seminar

This longitudinal study investigated the effects of expectations of effort of self and spouse on the marital quality of marital enrichment seminar participants. Self‐report measures of marital quality, expectations regarding effort put into implementing what was learned during the seminar, amount of perceived effort, and satisfaction with effort were administered before and after the seminar, as well as at a 2‐month follow‐up. Participants (147 women, 95 men) attended community‐based marital enrichment seminars in 12 U.S. cities. Multivariate path models indicated that larger discrepancies between expectations of effort postseminar and perceived effort at 2‐month follow‐up were associated with less satisfaction with perceived effort. Furthermore, participants' dissatisfaction in their spouses' effort had a negative effect on marital quality while controlling for initial marital quality, whereas dissatisfaction in their own effort did not. These findings highlight the possible detrimental effect that unmet spousal expectations can have. Implications for marital enrichment programs and couples therapy are discussed.     

When resources get sparse: a longitudinal, qualitative study of emotions, coping and resource-creation when parenting a young child with severe disabilities

Parents who realize that their newborn child is severely disabled often experience severe physical and emotional stress. Parental well-being is essential for the care-taking of the child. It is yet not known why some cope well and others do not. The aim of this study was to explore how parents coped with parenting a disabled child and how they maintained their energy and personal resources. We explored parents' experiences, coping and resources over a two-year period after their child was diagnosed with a severely disabling condition using a qualitative, longitudinal approach. Findings were interpreted in a theoretical framework of Lazarus and Folkman's studies on coping and Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, as well as theories of positive illusions and benefit finding during severe adversity. We found that parents continually created and sustained their personal resources through positive cognitive reappraisals of their circumstances, the consequences of those circumstances and their coping possibilities. Nine main coping strategies were identified constituting transformative pathways in resource-creation. A theory of resource-creation is proposed as an addition to the current understanding of coping and the role of positive emotions. Coping and resources were found to be closely interrelated and portals of intervention are discussed.     

Divorce,Religious Coping,and Depressive Symptoms in a Conservative Protestant Religious Group

A long tradition of research demonstrates that divorce is a risk factor for depressive symptoms. Although a growing literature examines links between religious factors and marital quality and stability, researchers have neglected the role of religion in successful or problematic coping following divorce. Building on Pargament's seminal work on religious coping, we outline relevant theory concerning several specific religious coping styles. Hypotheses are then tested using data from a large sample of members of the Seventh‐day Adventist denomination. Results indicate that several types of religious coping bear a direct inverse association with depressive symptoms and also buffer the deleterious effects of divorce on this outcome. Several promising future directions and suggestions for practitioners are identified.     

Vulnerabilities,Stressors, and Adaptations in Situationally Violent Relationships

Very little research has examined the dynamics within couple relationships that may lead to situational couple violence (SCV; M. P. Johnson, 2006a ; K. H. Rosen, S. M. Stith, A. L. Few, K. L. Daly, & D. R. Tritt, 2005 ). To enhance understanding of these dynamics, we conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews with 11 couples previously classified as engaging in SCV using M. P. Johnson and K. J. Ferraro's (2000) typology of violent relationships. In this analysis, sensitizing concepts from the vulnerability‐stress‐adaptation Model ( B. R. Karney & T. N. Bradbury, 1995 ) were used to better understand the experiences of couples who report situational violence in their relationships. Findings demonstrate ways in which vulnerabilities and stressful events combine to create adaptive processes in couples, such as compliance, escalation, or withdrawal, which may lead to violence.     

Being a Wife of a Veteran with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder*

Abstract: We present the findings from a qualitative study examining the marital perceptions of 9 wives of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were from a semistructured in‐depth focus group interview. Findings reveal how the lives of these women largely revolved around their husbands’ illness. The wives faced constant tension between being drawn into a fusion with their husbands and the struggle to maintain their independence. In addition, the wives identified positive aspects of the marital relationship that granted them strength for current and future coping. Implications for practice are included.