Suchergebnisse

AbstractAlthough existing research suggests that certain childhood traumas such as childhood sexual abuse are associated with interpersonal (e.g., marital) difficulties in adulthood, there has been limited research on interpersonal sequelae of other types of traumas. In addition, the association between childhood traumas and interpersonal outcomes has often been limited to a particular outcome such as divorce, and existing studies have rarely controlled for the co‐occurrence of other traumas when evaluating interpersonal outcomes. The current study sought to evaluate the associations between 7 childhood traumas and 2 marital outcomes—marital disruption (i.e., divorce and separation) and marital satisfaction—in a large, national probability sample. Results from univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that (a) probability of marital disruption was higher among people who during childhood had experienced physical abuse, rape, or serious physical attack or assault; and (b) current marital satisfaction was lower among people who during childhood had experienced rape or sexual molestation. Results support the importance of childhood traumas in predicting 2 important marital outcomes.

AbstractThis study was conducted to evaluate, in a probability sample of married individuals (N = 2,071), the psychometric properties of a measure of positive and negative relationship adjustment, based on perceived frequency of positive and negative partner exchanges or interactions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support the presence of two correlated factors, and multigroup confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for configural and metric invariance for gender, racial/ethnic, and age groups. The measure demonstrated good convergent validity in its association with another measure of relationship adjustment. Results support the use of this brief and easily administered measure to assess positive and negative aspects of relationship adjustment, particularly in situations in which the correlates of relationship adjustment are to be compared across demographic groups.

AbstractActor and partner effects for the 2‐year longitudinal associations between marital adjustment and life satisfaction were evaluated in a population‐based sample of middle‐aged and older adults (N = 1,385 couples). Results showed that (a) higher marital adjustment at baseline predicted higher life satisfaction at follow‐up, (b) higher life satisfaction at baseline predicted higher marital adjustment at follow‐up, (c) marital adjustment more strongly predicted life satisfaction than life satisfaction predicted marital adjustment for women, and (d) higher partner marital adjustment at baseline predicted higher life satisfaction at follow‐up. Results suggest that marital adjustment and life satisfaction influence one another in a bidirectional fashion and that the direction is predominantly from marital adjustment to life satisfaction in women.