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The purpose of this study was to explore the contribution of multiple intelligence on marital decision-making among students of Jimma College of Teachers Education. Correlational design with quantitative and qualitative research methods was employed in achieving the research objectives. Accordingly, questionnaires and semi-structured interview guides were used to collect data. The sample of the study was 230 Jimma College of Teachers Education students. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, multiple linear regressions, and thematic analysis. The result showed that emotional and spiritual intelligence significantly accounted for marital decision-making at (b = .398, t (4.963), p = .000; b = .865, t (11.359), p = .000 respectively at (R.sup.2 = .628). The mean of college students on marital decision-making was found to be 55.6267 with a standard deviation of 8.9692. Qualitative data result indicated that college students made a relationship for temporary sexual life to support one another for economic interdependence and support on academic tasks than for permanent future marital life. In conclusion, emotional and spiritual intelligence were accounted for marital decision-making. Marriage and family counseling courses need to be launched by Oromia Education Bureau to minimize variation among college students on marital decision-making., Author(s): Getachew A. Disassa [sup.1] , Sentayehu O. Bekele [sup.2] , Bonsa S. Tefera [sup.1] , Dinaol U. Gita [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411903.e, 0000 0001 2034 9160, Jimma University, [...]

Recent research suggests presumptions about atheists' uncommitted mating strategy causes atheists to seem less trustworthy, and that people who are more religious or espouse less agreeable attitudes toward uncommitted mating (i.e., more restricted sociosexual attitudes) tend to harbor greater anti-atheist attitudes. We provided additional tests of these ideas and addressed whether they could extend to discrimination against atheists in a 'high-trust domain:' likelihood of granting approval to marry one's adult child. An MTurk sample of U.S. parents (N = 301) self-reported their religiosity and sociosexual attitudes, then were randomly assigned to a condition wherein they read about their adult child's fiancé who was either depicted as an atheist or devoted Christian. Participants reported their likelihood of approving of their child marrying the fiancé and estimated the fiancé's committed mating strategy, trustworthiness, and dark personality characteristics. Participants with high religiosity presumed an atheist (vs. devoted Christian) fiancé endorsed a less committed mating strategy, which, apart from presumptions about the fiancé's standing on dark personality characteristics, was associated with (a) perceiving the atheist as less trustworthy and (b) indicating less approval for their child marrying an atheist. Broadly, the research extends theorizing on how atheism relates to perceived threats to moral values and discrimination., Author(s): Joshua T. Lambert [sup.1] , William Hart [sup.1] , Charlotte Kinrade [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411015.0, 0000 0001 0727 7545, Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, , Tuscaloosa, AL, [...]

This study investigated the role of self-reported and perceived partners' use of maintenance behaviors (openness, sharing tasks, and positivity) on marital satisfaction through the indirect roles of relational equity and appreciation (felt and expressed). We used a sample of 602 married individuals living in Turkey to test two hypothesized models using Structural Equation Modeling. Our results from the first model indicated that the indirect associations between self-reported use of maintenance behaviors and marital satisfaction were explained by the individual mediator role of felt appreciation and serial indirect role of felt appreciation and relational equity. On the other hand, the results of the second model indicated that the indirect associations between partners' use of maintenance behaviors and marital satisfaction were explained by the individual mediator roles of relational equity and expressed appreciation as well as the serial indirect role of relational equity and expressed appreciation. We discussed the implications for theory, research and practice, and recommendations for further studies., Author(s): Nazli Büsra Akçabozan Kayabol [sup.1] , Zeynep Hatipoglu Sümer [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.440437.0, 0000 0004 0399 3159, Department of Educational Sciences, Hasan Kalyoncu University, , 27100, Gaziantep, Turkey [...]

This paper examines Palestinian women s marriage preferences and the ways they incorporate national/cultural elements into their self-initiated marriage process in order to mitigate the reactions of their families and local community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Marriage decisions among Palestinians in diaspora are a complex affair defined by notions of nationalism, kin relations, and religion, with their inherent gendered aspects. These notions reveal an array of actions and choices that testify to the ways in which women build strategies to deal with their realities and increase their agency. Their access to higher education, careers, and residences in multi-cultural locations allow them to redefine gender roles and control their marriage choices. Intermarriage outside their ethnic and national groups, increase in marriage age, and marriage processes that are self-initiated yet devised and presented in the form of customary marriage patterns emerge as visible phenomena among second-generation Palestinian Muslims. The decreasing number of suitable potential spouses drives a considerable number of Palestinian American women to look outside their national and ethnic group for marriage partners, thereby prioritizing their universal, religious identity as Muslims over Palestinian ethnic identity. This study uses oral interviews and community observation to examine how Palestinian Muslim women maintained some symbolic customary practices and challenged others by conceptualizing, utilizing, and modifying their group cultural and religious values in order to expand the boundaries of their gender roles and increase their power in negotiating marriage choices., INTRODUCTION This study explores the marriage patterns among Muslim Palestinians in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a focus on two distinctive periods: the 1950s-1980s and 1990s-2000s. The study reflects women's perspectives on [...]

The median age at first marriage in the U.S. has reached historic highs-29.2 for men and 27.1 for women. In this study, we used the Marriage Apprehension Questionnaire (MAQ) to investigate the marriage wariness of university students. Previous research has suggested that the marital attitudes of young adults are largely the result of familial and societal factors. In this study, we were interested in the role of individual-difference variables (e.g., attachment styles, selfishness, maximizing) in marriage apprehension. We found that each of the IVs investigated was strongly related to marriage uncertainty, and together they explained as much as 40% of the variance in the marriage apprehension scores of emerging adults. This initial study employing the MAQ suggests that this new measure of marriage apprehension may be a useful tool for further research. Keywords: marriage attitudes, marital apprehension, personal qualities, The median age at first marriage in the U.S. has reached historic highs-29.2 for men and 27.1 for women (U.S. Census Bureau, March, 2017). Numerous researchers have linked this increase [...]

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the association between marital distress and mental health service utilization in a population-based sample of men and women (N = 1,601). Method: The association between marital distress and mental health care service utilization was evaluated for overall mental health service utilization and for specific sectors of treatment providers, including psychiatrist, other mental health provider, other medical provider, and religious services provider. Interviews were used to assess past-year service utilization and presence of anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders. Results: Approximately 12% of married individuals sought help for problems with their emotions, nerves, or substance use during the 12 months preceding the interview. Marital distress was significantly associated with (a) overall mental health service utilization and service utilization provided by each of the sectors of providers when controlling for demographic variables and (b) overall mental health service utilization and receiving treatment from a psychiatrist when additionally controlling for past-year anxiety, mood, or substance use disorders. There was little evidence that the associations between marital distress and service utilization were moderated by gender or presence of psychiatric disorders. Conclusion: The finding that marital distress is associated with greater mental health care service utilization suggests that clinicians should assess both individual and relationship factors among individuals presenting for treatment. Keywords: help seeking, marital discord, marital distress, mental health care, treatment utilization DOI: 10.1037/a0019711

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01317.x Byline: MELANIE BRAUN (*), KATHARINA MURA (*), MELANIE PETER-WIGHT (*), RAINER HORNUNG (*), URTE SCHOLZ (*) Keywords: Marital Communication; Spousal Caregiving; Sequential Analyses Abstract: To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full-text page on Wiley InterScience (http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp). Dementia research has frequently documented high rates of caregiver depression and distress in spouses providing care for a partner suffering from dementia. However, the role of marital communication in understanding caregiver distress has not been examined sufficiently. Studies with healthy couples demonstrated an association between marital communication and the partners' psychological well-being, depressiveness, respectively (e.g., Heene, Buysee, & Van Oost, 2005). The current study investigates the relationship between caregiver depression and communication in 37 couples in which the wives care for their partners with dementia. Nonsequential and sequential analyses revealed significant correlations between caregiver depression and marital communication quality. Caregivers whose husbands used more positive communication reported less depression and distress. Additionally, caregiver depression was negatively correlated with rates of positive reciprocal communication indicating dependence between the couples' interaction patterns. This study is one of the first to illustrate the relevance of spousal communication in understanding caregiver distress and depression. Abstract (Spanish): Frecuentemente, las investigaciones sobre demencia han documentado indices altos de depresion y angustia en esposas que cuidan a su pareja con demencia. Sin embargo, el papel que juega la comunicacion matrimonial a la hora de comprender la angustia de las cuidadoras no se ha analizado suficientemente. Los estudios realizados con parejas sanas demostraron que existe una asociacion entre la comunicacion matrimonial, y el bienestar psicologico o el estado depresivo de los integrantes de la pareja respectivamente (p. ej.: Heene, Buysee, & Van Oost, 2005). En el presente estudio se investiga la relacion entre la depresion de las cuidadoras y la comunicacion en 37 parejas en las cuales las esposas cuidan a sus parejas con demencia. Los analisis no secuenciales y secuenciales revelaron correlaciones importantes entre la depresion de las cuidadoras y la calidad de la comunicacion matrimonial. Las cuidadoras cuyos maridos usaron una comunicacion mas positiva manifestaron menos depresion y angustia. Ademas, la depresion de las cuidadoras estuvo correlacionada negativamente con indices de comunicacion reciproca positiva, lo cual indica dependencia entre los patrones de interaccion de las parejas. Este estudio es uno de los primeros en poner de manifiesto la relevancia de la comunicacion conyugal a la hora de comprender la angustia y la depresion de las cuidadoras. Palabras clave: comunicacion matrimonial, cuidado conyugal, analisis secuenciales Author Affiliation: (*)Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Article note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Melanie Braun, Department of Psychology, Social and Health Psychology, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestr. 14/Box 14, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland. E-mail: melanie.braun@psychologie.uzh.ch

This qualitative study examines the impact of marriage and family therapy (MFT) training on the marriages of trainees. Analysis of data from 18 spouses of alumni from a training program [...]

Studies assessing the impact of relationship quality and social support on marital bereavement have typically focussed on depressive symptoms as the major (and often only) bereavement outcome. Although sadness and depression are important symptoms of grieving, they are neither the only nor necessarily the most important ones. We argue that in addition to measures of depression, grief measures need to be used in assessing bereavement outcome. However, grief measures do not only assess reactions that are specific to bereavement such as yearning, but also general responses that grief shares with other critical life events (e.g., anxiety, shock, anger, intrusive thoughts, and despair). We would expect marital quality to only affect yearning for the loved one who died, but not other more general grief reactions. In contrast, experiencing support from family and friends, though unlikely to reduce yearning, might ameliorate these general grief symptoms as well as depression. Using data on widows from the Changing Lives of doi: 10.2190/OM.61.2.a

Although adults with anxiety disorders often report interpersonal distress, the degree to which anxiety is linked to the quality of close relationships remains unclear. The authors examined the relational impact of anxiety by sampling the daily mood and relationship quality of 33 couples in which the wife was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Use of a daily process design improved on prior methodologies by capturing relational processes closer to their actual occurrence and in the setting of the diagnosed partner's anxiety. Analyses revealed significant associations between wives' daily anxiety and both partners' perceptions of relationship quality. Associations were moderated by anxiety-specific support. Results also indicated significant concordance between wives' daily anxiety and husbands' distress. Concordance was stronger for husbands who reported frequent accommodation of wives' anxiety symptoms. Findings are discussed in the context of existing evidence on the social costs of anxiety disorders. Keywords: anxiety disorders, couples, marriage, marital distress, relationship functioning DOI: 10.1037/a0018473

The current study evaluated the associations between externalizing psychopathology and marital adjustment in a combined sample of 1,805 married couples. We further considered the role of personality in these associations, as personality has been found to predict both the development of externalizing psychopathology as well as marital distress and instability. Diagnostic interviews assessed conduct disorder, adult symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, and alcohol dependence. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale was used to measure marital adjustment. Results indicate that more externalizing psychopathology, greater negative emotionality, and lower communal positive emotionality were associated with reduced marital adjustment in both individuals and their spouses. Low constraint was associated with reduced marital adjustment for individuals but not for their spouses. Multivariate analyses indicated externalizing psychopathology continued to predict marital adjustment even when accounting for overlap with personality. These results highlight the importance of examining the presence of externalizing psychopathology and the personality attributes of both members of a dyad when considering psychological predictors of marital adjustment. Keywords: externalizing, psychopathology, personality, marital adjustment DOI: 10.1037/a0017981

Maintaining a relationship requires that intimates successfully navigate the ups and downs of their daily experiences with their partners. Intimates whose daily global satisfaction is heavily dependent on these experiences exhibit worse relationship outcomes than do intimates whose satisfaction is less sensitive to fluctuating dally experiences. The current studies examined how intimates' reactivity to daily experiences within the relationship is affected by their experiences of stress outside the relationship. Using diary data, Study 1 examined the covariance between spouses' daily global and specific relationship evaluations in 146 newlywed couples. Between-subjects analyses revealed that daily global satisfaction covaried with perceptions of specific relationship experiences more strongly in spouses experiencing more stress. Study 2 examined the within-person association between reactivity and stress using 7-day diaries collected at 3 time points over 4 years in a sample of 82 couples. Intimates' reactivity to daily relationship experiences was stronger when they were experiencing greater than normal stress. All findings held when controlling for the influence of various individual difference factors on reactivity. These findings highlight ways that adaptive relationship functioning may be constrained by external stress. Keywords: stress, relationship satisfaction, diary data, self-esteem, attachment

As a central organizing institution in society, marriage presents an idealized package for sociosexual relations that reproduces and intertwines gender power dynamics and heterosexual desire. This package is sustained, in part, by the ideology of romantic love--a set of beliefs that constructs only a particular configuration of sexual and gender practices as natural, normal, and right. Drawing on interviews with 45 people, this study examines how people negotiate marital relationships that do not fit into this normative configuration-mixed-orientation (e.g., straight and gay) marriages. Participants' resolutions to these situations, whether they divorced or created asexual or sexual nonmonogamous marriages, were heavily shaped by their belief in the ideology of romantic love, illustrating how heteronormative relations can be hem in place by normalizing ideologies. Keywords: sexuality; culture; family

In two experiments, female and male participants envisioned themselves as a married person with children who is either a homemaker or a provider. Participants who envisioned themselves as a future homemaker regarded a potential mate's provider qualities as more important and homemaker qualities as less important, compared with participants who envisioned themselves as a future provider. Envisioning oneself as a homemaker also shifted preferences toward an older spouse, compared with envisioning oneself as a provider. In the control conditions of the experiments, in which participants freely envisioned their own future marriage, the less provider responsibility anticipated for the wife, the more traditional were mate preferences. These experiments support the social role theory view that the roles anticipated by men and women influence their choice of mates. Keywords: social roles; mate preferences; the self; sex differences; gender

Few studies have examined how raising grandchildren influences the marital relationship of grandparent caregivers although half of such caregivers are married. This study used national survey data from Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) to contrast perceptions of spousal support and strain for grandparents who had recently provided care for grandchildren along with their own young children (n = 16), and grandparents who had recently cared for grandchildren only (n = 96). Results revealed an interaction between caregivers' sex and family situation with grandmother caregivers who were raising both their own minor children and grandchildren reporting less spousal support than grandfathers in the same situation. Differences on the spousal strain dimension were not significant. Grandmother caregivers occupying 2 caregiving roles appear to have a unique experience with caring for grandchildren. These results parallel other studies that show that grandparent caregivers have poorer outcomes when they hold multiple caregiving roles simultaneously.

This article examines the effect of AIDS-related mortality of the prime-age adult population on marriage behavior among women in Malawi. A rise in prime-age adult mortality increases risks associated with the search for a marriage partner in the marriage market. A possible behavioral change in the marriage market in response to an increase in prime-age adult mortality is to marry earlier to avoid exposure to HIV/AIDS risks. We test this hypothesis by using micro data from Malawi, where prime-age adult mortality has drastically increased. In the analysis, we estimate the probability of prime-age adult mortality that sample women have observed during their adolescent period by utilizing retrospective information on deaths of their siblings. Empirical analysis shows that excess prime-age adult mortality in the local marriage market lowers the marriage age for females and shortens the interval between the first sex and first marriage.

Statewide surveys of marriage and divorce in Oklahoma and Utah point to the need to better understand the importance of commitment to marriage in a religiously homogenous population. The components of commitment--to their spouse, to marriage as an institution, and constraints to stay in the relationship--were explored in relation to religious values and attendance in an organized religion. Results indicate significant associations between these variables, with higher levels of values and attendance having a positive relationship with commitment to spouse and marriage. Constraint commitment was associated with lower religious values and attendance. KEYWORDS marital commitment, marriage, religiosity

An online survey of lesbian, gay. and bisexual (LGB) adults (N = 1,552) examined minority stress (I. H. Meyer. 2003) and psychological distress following the 2006 general election in which constitutional amendments to limit marriage to I man and I woman were on the ballot m 9 states. Following the November election, participants living in states that passed a marriage amendment reported significantly more minority stress (i.e., exposure to negative media messages and negative conversations, negative amendment-related affect, and LGB activism) and higher levels of psychological distress (negative affect, stress, and depressive symptoms) than participants living in the other states. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses revealed significant positive main effects of minority stress factors and state ballot status on psychological distress. In addition, the association between amendment-related affect and psychological distress was significantly higher in states that had passed a marriage amendment compared with other states. Discussion of these findings emphasizes that marriage amendments create an environment associated with negative psychological outcomes for LGB individuals. Keywords: gay, lesbian, bisexual, minority stress, psychological distress

Most prior studies of skill-based preventive interventions for couples compare changes in problem-solving behaviors made by treated couples with those made by control couples. Unexpected findings in these studies highlight the need to examine within-group variability in behavior change among treated couples, alternative behavioral domains, including dyadic support and coping, and partners' intended and actual use of strategies taught in the interventions. A 24-month longitudinal study of 109 couples participating in an 18-hour intervention designed to enhance communication and dyadic coping revealed that marital outcomes are enhanced to the extent that (a) wives increase their positive problem-solving behavior and husbands decrease their negative problem-solving behavior over the course of the intervention, and (b) wives and husbands increase their positive dyadic coping behaviors, and husbands decrease their negative dyadic coping behaviors. Moreover, greater postintervention use of strategies taught in the intervention program produced better outcomes, and wives' improvements in positive and negative dyadic coping strengthened associations between strategy use and relationship satisfaction. Discussion emphasizes the importance of devising interventions that target key interpersonal processes and that motivate participants to display newly acquired behaviors. KEYWORDS marriage, communication, dyadic coping, support, prevention, distress

Based on a prospective longitudinal panel data set that was collected at three developmental stages--early adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood--this study investigates marital satisfaction and educational attainment as mediating mechanisms as well as gender's moderating effect for the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting (N = 1,560). The results show that perceived satisfying experiences with parents during early adolescence are positively related to marital satisfaction and educational attainment in young adulthood, which, in turn, are positively related to individuals' utilization of constructive parenting in middle adulthood. The two mediating mechanisms account for most of the direct effect of the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting. Furthermore, the mediating effect of marital relationship is stronger for current fathers than for mothers because of a stronger association between marital satisfaction and constructive parenting for men. The implications are discussed. Keywords: marital satisfaction; intergenerational; parenting; gender; longitudinal

Poor marital quality is a reliable correlate of internalizing problems, but the etiology of this association has yet to be examined. Marital distress may exert its influence by acting as a stressor that enables the expression of latent genetic risk for internalizing psychopathology. The authors examined this question using 379 twin pairs, assessed for marital quality, symptoms of major depression (MD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic attacks (PA), and neuroticism (N). A phenotypic factor analysis confirmed that one factor best accounted for the variance shared between MD, GAD, PA, and N. After accounting for genetic influences on the general Internalizing factor, there were residual genetic influences on N but no specific genetic influences on any other individual internalizing syndrome. The authors found overlap between the genetic influences on marital quality and the internalizing spectrum. Finally, biometrical moderation models revealed that genetic effects on the Internalizing factor increased as the marital quality deteriorated (marital quality high: [h.sup.2] = 0.05; marital quality low: [h.sup.2] = 0.29), suggesting that those with a genetic predisposition to internalizing syndromes may be more likely to express this predisposition in the context of a dissatisfying marriage. Keywords: depression, anxiety, neuroticism, factor

Why are neurotic intimates likely to have troubled relationships? Do they create greater negativity through their own negative behavior, or do they perceive greater negativity through processes of perceptual construal? The current research addressed this question through a study of newlyweds. Spouses reported their neuroticism and their expectancies for two upcoming problem-solving discussions with their partners, then participated in those discussions, and finally reported their perceptions of how their partners behaved during the discussions. Objective observations revealed that the partners of more neurotic spouses behaved more negatively than the partners of less neurotic spouses. For wives, their own behavior mediated these effects. In addition, once the objective quality of partners' behavior was controlled, more neurotic spouses also reported more negative perceptions of those partners' behavior. For husbands, their own expectancies mediated these effects. That personality uniquely affects relationships through behavioral and perceptual processes suggests that those processes should be studied independently. Keywords: neuroticism; marriage; communication; observational; perceptual biases; self-fulfilling prophecy

The study explores relationships between differentiation of self and marital satisfaction among 121 Israeli men and women at various stages of married life. Marital satisfaction was found to be inversely correlated with emotional cutoff, so that lower cutoff was associated with greater satisfaction. An interesting gender finding was that satisfaction was connected to emotional reactivity, emotional cutoff and I-position among men, but only related to emotional cutoff among women. Another gender difference was that level of marital satisfaction and duration of the marriage were negatively correlated for women and positively correlated for men. The present study sheds light on several notions of Bowen's (1978; Kerr & Bowen, 1988) theory, and is the first to indicate a relation between differentiation and marital satisfaction among Israeli participants at various stages of marriage. Results suggest that a crucial balance of separation and closeness provides an optimal context for meeting the needs of spouses and promoting the healthy development of marital life.

Depression and marital discord are related to feeling criticized by others, especially by spouses (e.g., Hooley, J. M., & Teasdale, J. D. 1989). This study evaluated the extent to which criticism was overperceived in relation to 'actual' spousal critical comments, with actual critical comments being established by independent observers and by criticizing spouses themselves. Using dyadic interaction and questionnaire data from 72 married couples, signal detection and regression analyses suggested that both dysphoria and marital discord were associated with a general bias towards feeling criticized. Marital discord's association with criticality bias subsumed dysphoria's, but dysphoria's did not subsume marital discord's. Criticality bias also accounted for a significant proportion of perceived spousal criticism. A common cognitive process may underlie established associations among perceived criticism, dysphoria, and marital discord.

This qualitative study focuses on the role that friendship, trust, and love play in the marriages of 25 Latino couples (50 individuals) who, through a semistructured interview, reported having strong marriages. Latino couples were interviewed using questions developed within the context of Latino culture. A model of how friendship, trust, and love contribute to strong marriages is proposed. Suggestions of how these findings can be used in marriage education are provided. KEYWORDS. Friendship, Latino Courtship, Latino friendship, Latino love, Latino marriage, Latino trust, love, marriage, strong Latino marriage, trust

Seventeen in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted to discover whether the conceptualizations proposed in our communicative theory of marital commitment (Thompson-Hayes & Webb, 2004) comported with the lived experience of marital dyads. Each spouse validated the conceptualizations of commitment (the extent to which spouses experience mutual desire to remain in their marriage as a function, in part, of their interaction), projected longevity (the extent to which marital partners imagine themselves growing older together), and marital quality (the extent to which marital dyads recognize that their marriage has outstanding valued features evaluated as superior to comparable features in other relationships they have had, could be having, and are likely to have). Strong support was found for the conceptualization of communication maintenance behavior (the extent to which marital dyads successfully employ specific interaction activities to sustain, to repair, and to redefine their relationships).

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00495.x Byline: Claire M. Kamp Dush (**), Miles G. Taylor (**), Rhiannon A. Kroeger (**) Keywords: depression; latent class analysis; marital happiness; marital satisfaction; well-being Abstract: Abstract: Using data from six waves of the Study of Marital Instability over the Life Course (N = 1,998), we conducted a latent class analysis to test for distinct marital happiness trajectories. We found three distinct marital happiness trajectories: low, middle, and high happiness. Initial levels of life happiness were strongly associated with membership in the marital happiness trajectories and with various demographic and attitude-related control variables. Using fixed effects regression with time-varying covariates, we also found that marital happiness trajectory membership was associated with subsequent changes in both life happiness and depressive symptoms. All respondents experienced a decrease in life happiness between Wave 1 and the end of their observed time in their marriage, but respondents in the high marital happiness trajectory experienced the smallest decline. Respondents in both the high and middle marital happiness trajectories also experienced a decline in depressive symptoms across time. Intervention and policy implications are discussed. Article note: (**) Claire M. Kamp Dush is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University, 171A Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (kamp-dush.1@osu.edu). Miles Taylor is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill CB# 8120, University Square, 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 (mtaylor@unc.edu). Rhiannon Kroeger is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 300 Bricker Hall, 190 N. Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 (kroeger.36@sociology.osu.edu).

INTRODUCTION Judaism, Christianity, and Islam represent three of the greatest religious traditions in the world. Each is unique, and yet each also contains a shared amalgamation of religious traditions, dogmas, […]

A study to investigate whether sexual relationship mediated the effects of own Neuroticism on marital satisfaction, partner's Neuroticism on marital satisfaction and own and partner's Neuroticism on changes in marital satisfaction over time is conducted. Result concludes that sexual relationship plays important role in marital satisfaction and suggests specific processes through which Neuroticism affects marriage.

A study to examine the efficacy of non-aggression-focused behavioral couple therapy for couples with and without a history of mild physical aggression is conducted. Results show that couples with a history of frequent psychological aggression and mild physical aggression begin treatment more distressed but differ in their couple therapy outcomes compared with couples with no history of such aggression.

A study to discriminate between 2 dominant perspectives on the nature of marital change over the transition to parenthood is conducted. Results conclude that couples should be aware that prepregancy levels in marital satisfaction would tend to constrain spouses and manner in which couples negotiate the transition to parenthood have a lasting impact on their marriage and their children's emotional well-being.

A study to examine spousal support adequacy as a potential moderator of stress spillover in marriage using a stress-buffering model of individual well-being is conducted. Results show that greater escalations in husbands and wives' role strain are associated with less marital declines for wives and that these links are bolstered when husbands provided wives with more adequate support.

Couples assess their satisfaction with one another according to numerous culturally determined criteria. However, evolutionary perspectives on marriage emphasize that husbands and wives are also concerned with their adaptive fitness, and this suggests that some aspects of marital satisfaction may be cross-culturally homogenous. We examined whether marital satisfaction reflects both 'culturally unique' and 'adaptively universal' concerns of husbands and wives. Approximately 2000 couples from Britain, Turkey, China and the United States completed a multidimensional measure of marital satisfaction that we assessed for measurement invariance. Measures of romantic love and spousal support functioned similarly for couples within all four cultures, indicating the possibility of a ubiquitous pair-bonding component of marital satisfaction. However, invariant measurement structure was less robust across these samples, suggesting a culturally derived component of marital satisfaction. In general, results suggest that invariance analyses may be used to elucidate cultural and evolutionary perspectives on marriage. Keywords: marriage; marital satisfactionl; invariance; love; Turkey; China; United Kingdom; United States

Many studies point out the importance of marital satisfaction for well-being. However, although being married is still the norm in middle and old age, research on the determinants of marital satisfaction has neglected long-term marriages. While research on short-term marriages mainly focuses on partner fit (e.g., in personality traits and socio-economic status), marital interactions should be more important for marital satisfaction in long-term marriages. In this article we examine the role of both stable, dispositional factors and of marital interaction in predicting marital satisfaction in long-term marriages in middle and old age. With data from 588 married women and men in middle and old age who participated in the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE), we examined age and gender differences in the role of socio-economic status, personality, and marital interaction as predictors of marital satisfaction. Results showed a) that socio-economic factors and personality played a minor role in predicting marital satisfaction, and b) that a high quality of dyadic interaction was particularly important for the marital satisfaction of women. The implications of these findings for future research and interventions on marital interaction in middle and old age are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of Chinese couples' enqing, a culturally specific component of marital affection that involves the expression of feelings of gratitude and admiration toward one's spouse. In this study, the authors examined family stress, spousal contributions, and sacrifices to study their possible effects on enqing in Chinese marriages. Participants were 455 married people living in northern Taiwan. Overall, the results highlighted the importance of spousal contributions and sacrifices in the development of marital enqing. Additionally, the results indicated that family stress moderated the spousal economic contribution-enqing relationship and the spousal sacrifices-enqing relationship for wives, but not for husbands. Keywords: Chinese marriage, enqing, family stress, marital affection, STUDIES ON MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS suggest the need to examine couples' affection in a cultural context. Intimacy has drawn significant attention in Western studies of marital relationships. According to the literature, [...]