Marital Satisfaction : Recent Research

Introduction

Marital satisfaction is sought, or expected, by most married individuals. Unfortunately, the U.S. Bureau of Census in 1992 reported that 52% of marriages end in divorce (Fowers, Montel, and Olson p. 103). This fact, along with other stimulants, has caused researchers to investigate the influences on marital satisfaction. Many predictors of stability and satisfaction in marriage do, in fact, exist. Among the various possibilities explored by researchers, conclusive studies have been done on the influences of past and present satisfaction with one's spouse's personality and living conditions, the effect of autonomy and relatedness on marriage, the Empty Nest Syndrome, as well as types of premarital relations and their effect on marital satisfaction.

Exploring Previous Studies

Literature linking the quality of premarital relationships to marital satisfaction continues to grow. Studies reviewed in this literature show that relationship satisfaction declines in the first 2 to 3 years of marriage, and that although the majority of satisfactory marriages are stable, marital dissatisfaction does not always result in marital instability. Thus, determining different premarital antecedents which influence later marital satisfaction is important. Four types of premarital couples were determined for study by Fowers and Olson (1992), and titled Vitalized, Harmonious, Traditional, and Conflicted. All couples of each type completed a PREPARE inventory 3-4 months prior to their marriage, and again 2-3 years later. The purpose of the PREPARE inventory was to assess and identify strengths and weaknesses related to relationship issues, such as expectations, communication, personality, and conflict resolution tactics. The Vitalized couples had the highest degree of overall marital satisfaction, with strong communication abilities, strong satisfaction concerning affection, sexuality, shared time, finances, and a strong belief in religious importance. Harmonious couples were moderately satisfied with their marriages overall. These individuals shared and related well with each other and each other's family and friends, yet the decline in satisfaction seemed to be caused by their unrealistic view of marriage and child-related issues. Traditional couples had moderated dissatisfaction, although they were the least likely to divorce, and Conflicted couples showed distress and high divorce tendencies. The important influence on marital satisfaction found in this study can be seen through the greater amount of emphasis placed on marital satisfaction by Harmonious couples, than that placed on stability by Traditional couples. Thus communication and relationship satisfaction did result in greater marital satisfaction and did prove to be influenced by premarital views.

A dimensional analysis done on past and present satisfaction, proved that concerning many different domains, current and past relationship satisfaction can predict over-all marital satisfaction. This study done by Plechaty, Couturier, Cote, and Roy, et-al (1996) hypothesized that spouses' personality and living conditions as a couple, namely intimacy and communication, would be the most frequent sources of satisfaction or dissatisfaction accounting for much in the relationship. A preliminary correlation analysis showed that age and the number of children a couple had did significantly correlate with marital satisfaction, yet the two domains of spouses' personality and living issues (including intimacy and communication), were the major influences on marital satisfaction.

Other influences on happiness and satisfaction in marriages were found to be autonomy and relatedness by Rankin-Esquer, Burnett, Baucom, and Epstein (1997). Autonomy refers to spouses' "perceptions of the extent to which partners encouraged a sense of independence and individuality for G[each other] (Rankin-Esquer et-al, 1997). Relatedness, in this study, referred to a spouses' perceptions of the amount of closeness that their partners provided. The findings of this study did differ for males and females, specifically in that females found relatedness to be important in determining the standards of their relationship, held by themselves and their husbands, and that no relationship was found between male's views of standards, or their interpretation of their wives', and relatedness. It was found through this study that autonomy and relatedness were not only significantly positively correlated with each other but also with marital adjustment and satisfaction in both males and females.

Finally, research done on the well-know "empty-nest" stage in adult life also found significant influence on marital satisfaction. While observing and researching those adults in the launching stages of parenthood, White and Edwards (1990) found that over-all an empty nest, (the absence of children), has a significant positive effect on marital happiness. This happiness was found to be strongest relatively soon after the last child is launched. Also, the degree of enjoyment couples got out of their "post-launch honeymoon phase" was greater if the child most recently launched was in his teenage years, rather than young or even middle adulthood. The strongest and most repeatedly found reason for these trends seems to be the unavoidable existence of parental stress. "Even the best of children of the most conventional parents tend to be a source of strain in the marital relationship," stated White and Edwards (p. 240). The fact remains that for most parents, the role of parent continues despite living separations from the children, yet the empty nest stage has proved to positively affect marital satisfaction.

Conclusion

These factors found to contribute to a happy marriage are by no means the only influences on marital satisfaction. The important similarity between each of these studies is the finding of significant positive effects on happiness with one's marriage. Premarital views and personality types were found to indicate marital satisfaction later on in life, as were past and present levels of life satisfaction, specifically concerning spouses' personalities and dual living conditions. Autonomy and relatedness, otherwise known as an encouraging sense of spousal independence and perceptions of closeness, were found to positively correlate to each other, and more significantly, to overall marital satisfaction. Also, the important parental stage of childlessness, or the Empty Nest period, proved to positively influence marital satisfaction for both spouses.

References

Fowers, Blaine J., Montel, Kelly H., & Olson, David H. (1996). Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 22(1), 103-119.

Plechaty, Michael, Couturier, Sonia, Cote, Maude, Roy, Marc-Andre, & others. (1996). Psychological Reports, 78(2), 657-658.

Rankin-Esquer, Lynn A., Burnett, Charles K., Baucom, Donald H., & Epstein, Norman. (1997). Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 23(2), 175-190.

White, Lynn, & Edwards, John N. (1990). American Sociological Review, 55(2), 235-242.

Contributed by Molly Billideau, October 2, 1997..

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