Gender Differences In Marital Satisfaction Among Long Married Couples

Discover what factors, beliefs, and attitudes build a successful marriage!In the enormous social, political, and technological upheavals since World War I, the long and happy marriage has begun to seem like an endangered species. In the desperate hunt for reasons that marriages fail, most researchers have ignored the factors that help marriages succeed. Together Through Thick and Thin: A Multinational Picture of Long-Term Marriage reports a landmark study of long-term satisfaction in marriage. Instead of relying on conjecture or unproven clinical hunches, the authors studied the happily married around the world. The respondents’early experiences included the Great Depression, World War II, and the Holocaust as well as the Roaring Twenties. In the years since they married, technological change and the women's movement have made the world almost unrecognizable. Yet these people have managed to maintain both stability and quality in their marriages. The scope of Together Through Thick and Thin is sweeping: eight countries, more than 400 couples who had been happily married for between 25 and 45 years. Factors analyzed include degree of satisfaction, gender differences, socioeconomic level, family history, shared values, religious belief and practice, attitudes toward children, physical health, and problem-solving styles, among many others. Moreover, the book builds on existing documented literature on marriage. This solid background helps put its wealth of practical data into context, an ideal synthesis of theory and practice.This study delves into the reasons couples stay together and stay satisfied. What qualities and attitudes do happily married couples share? Can the factors that keep a Chilean couple together for life also apply in the very different cultures of Sweden, Israel, South Africa, the United States? What keeps a marriage together in times of crisis? How important is love?Together Through Thick and Thin helps you understand the diverse factors that affect marital quality and stability by offering a broad range of information: a comprehensive review of the literature of happy marriage cross-cultural comparisons that kindle fresh insights discussions of factors ranging from gender and economic status to family history and shared attitudes specific behaviors and attitudes that illuminate what matters most in marriage, from mutual respect to shared fun the reasons couples stick together during crises which problem-solving behaviors actually workTogether Through Thick and Thin provides psychologists, family therapists, and couples counselors with the solid data they need to guide couples in crisis toward greater intimacy, commitment, and joy together.

Close Relationships: Functions, Forms and Processes provides an overview of current theory and research in the area of close relationships, written by internationally renowned scholars whose work is at the cutting edge of research in the field. The volume consists of three sections: introductory issues, types of relationships, and relationship processes. In the first section, there is an exploration of the functions and benefits of close relationships, the diversity of methodologies used to study them, and the changing social context in which close relationships are embedded. A second section examines the various types of close relationships, including family bonds and friendships. The third section focuses on key relationship processes, including attachment, intimacy, sexuality, and conflict. This book is designed to be an essential resource for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, and practitioners, and will be suitable as a resource in advanced courses dealing with the social psychology of close relationships.

Based on two studies of marital quality in America twenty years apart, Alone Together shows that while the divorce rate has leveled off, spouses are spending less time together. The authors argue that marriage is an adaptable institution, and in accommodating the changes that have occurred in society, it has become a less cohesive, yet less confining arrangement.

Dr. Bernard examines recent research findings on the present nature of the marriage commitment and predicts a less restrictive role for women in future marriages.

Equality between husbands and wives is recognized - in theory - as being beneficial to the well-being of a family. However, empirical research over the past two decades indicates that the advantage is `his' rather than `hers': the vast majority of married women still bears a disproportionate responsibility for work related to relationships, home and children. This book examines why, while women's roles have expanded at an astonishing rate, the critical need for a more egalitarian style of relating has not been met. The author maintains that motivation to seek change stems from people perceiving inequality as unfair, and that this perception can be impeded by gender differences in sense of entitlement.

Based on in-depth interviews by skilled clinicians with husbands and wives who have been married more than 20 years, Mackey and O'Brien explore how spouses adapt to each other from the early years of marriage, through the parenting years, and into the post-parenting or empty-nest years. Purposively selected for inclusion were spouses representing religious, ethnic, racial, and educational diversity. Given increased life expectancies, couples who stay together will remain together for longer periods of time. As longevity extends into the seventies, eighties, and beyond, it is critical to identify the significant dynamics which contribute to satisfaction among couples in stable marriages. This book responds to this need. Each chapter focuses on an important theme in these long-term marital relationships. Mackey and O'Brien first explore the beginnings of the relationships and the recollections of how respondents were attracted initially. The next chapters focus on dimensions of marriage as they evolve over time. Collective themes emerging from the interviews are explored in relationship to gender, ethnicity, religion, and education. In view of increased life expectancies, couples who stay together will remain together for longer periods of time. As longevity extends into the seventies, eighties, and beyond, it is critical to identify the significant dynamics which contribute to satisfaction among couples in stable marriages. This book responds to this need among sociologists, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family counselors, and general adult readers interested in gender, cultural differences, and interpersonal relationships.