Marital Satisfaction and Aging: Research Findings

Introduction

Scientists have been observing factors that lead to a satisfying happy marriage for a number of years. Their research has brought about a number of interesting findings that are helpful hints for other couples.

Age

Researchers have found that starting with young couples, as the social environment narrows, significant relationships become more important. Longitudinal studies show that individuals' mental and physical health are influenced by perceptions of social support received from ones' spouse.

Middle age couples had more interest in humor, anger, disgust, and whining than older couples. Middle age couples have a higher expressed interest in one another too.

After a decline in marital satisfaction in the middle age year, marriages become increasingly positive as partners enter old age. High marital satisfaction in the empty nest appears to reflect relief from the stress of child rearing. Furthermore retirement may contribute to marital satisfaction by reducing other commitments, role conflicts, and time constraints and by increasing opportunity for companionship. The level of affection for one another is also highest in older age marriages. In older marriages, resolution of conflict comes less negatively emotional and more affectionate than in middle age marriages on the average. Strong relationships void of negative emotion and marital unhappiness can be found in young, middle, and older age marriages.

Gender

In young couples, women are more confronting and more expressive emotionally Wives showed more negative emotion, more anger, more contempt, more sadness, more whining, and joy than their male counterparts. The men are less emotionally expressive and more likely to be defensive and withdrawn neutral listeners. The males had higher levels of defensiveness and in unhappy marriages this ended up in the sequence of de-escalation. In unhappy marriages gender differences in negative emotion are more clearly played out.

Furthermore, researchers have found wives' marital satisfaction was more influenced by social support from husbands than husbands marital satisfaction was influenced by social support from wives. Men and women have different concepts of marital satisfaction and the social support that is exchanged in the marriage.

Conclusion

Marital satisfaction and aging have a great deal to do with the many aspects of how couples live out their lives. Gender is a big determinate in how one view their role in the marital relationship. As couples age the more likely it is that they will mesh these roles into less defined more mutual roles. The happiness that a couple experiences is the responsibility of more than one factor.

Acitelli, Linda K., Toni C. Antonucci. (1994). Gender Differences in the Link Between Marital Support and Satisfaction in Older Couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 688-698.

Carstensen, Laura L., John SM. Gottman, Robert W. Levensen. (1995). Emotional Behavior in Long-term Marraige. Psychology and Aging, 10, 140-149.

Tower, Roni Beth, Stanislav V. Kasl (1995). Depressive Symptoms Across Older Spouses and the Moderating Effect of Marital Closeness. Psychology and Aging, 10, 625-638.

Ward, Russel A. (1993). Marital Happiness and Household Equality in Later Life. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 427-438.

Contributed By Sara Bremer, December 10, 1997.

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