-
Psychological Reports Dec 2000The Triangular Theory of Love has created much interest among researchers in relational communication. Previous attempts at evaluating the theory have proven...
The Triangular Theory of Love has created much interest among researchers in relational communication. Previous attempts at evaluating the theory have proven problematic. Specifically, the problems centered around the measurement of the theory's three components of intimacy, passion, commitment. Recent research, which employed a new measure, offered support for the theory's primary assumptions. To expand upon this, the current study factor analyzed data from a sample of 213 married individuals. Current results provided support for the triangular theory's primary assumptions. The principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation indicated support for three distinct and reliable factors. The three components were also significantly related to scores for relational satisfaction. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that each component was a significant predictor of relational satisfaction. Men scored significantly higher on intimacy than women.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Communication; Female; Humans; Love; Male; Marriage; Middle Aged; Personality Assessment
PubMed: 11191410
DOI: 10.2466/pr0.2000.87.3.941 -
Demography Jun 2018Drawing on data from the American Community Survey, we compare patterns of assortative mating in first marriages, remarriages, and mixed-order marriages. We identify a...
Drawing on data from the American Community Survey, we compare patterns of assortative mating in first marriages, remarriages, and mixed-order marriages. We identify a number of ascribed and achieved characteristics that are viewed as resources available for exchange, both as complements and substitutes. We apply conditional logit models to show how patterns of assortative mating among never-married and previously married persons are subject to local marriage market opportunities and constraints. The results reveal that previously married individuals "cast a wider net": spousal pairings are more heterogamous among remarriages than among first marriages. Marital heterogamy, however, is reflected in systematic evidence of trade-offs showing that marriage order (i.e., status of being never-married) is a valued trait for exchange. Never-married persons are better positioned than previously married persons to marry more attractive marital partners, variously measured (e.g., highly educated partners). Previously married persons-especially women-are disadvantaged in the marriage market, facing demographic shortages of potential partners to marry. Marriage market constraints take demographic expression in low remarriage rates and in heterogamous patterns of mate selection in which previously married partners often substitute other valued characteristics in marriage with never-married persons.
Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Family Characteristics; Female; Humans; Male; Marriage; Population Dynamics; Sex Factors; Single Person; Socioeconomic Factors
PubMed: 29693225
DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0671-x -
The Journals of Gerontology. Series B,... Jan 1995Systematically comparable data on married elders from the United States (n = 567; ages 60+) and Madras, India (n = 207; ages 55+) and simultaneous factor analyses... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Systematically comparable data on married elders from the United States (n = 567; ages 60+) and Madras, India (n = 207; ages 55+) and simultaneous factor analyses (LISREL) were used to test the cross-cultural metric and structural invariance of a model of the influence of emotional social support from role relationships (adult children, spouse, and friends and relatives) on subjective well-being, based on social support and interactional role theories. Except for cross-cultural differences in measurement error variances, the model showed a high degree of invariance across the two samples. Americans and Indians were unexpectedly similar in terms of the influence of emotional social support from role relationships on their subjective well-being. The discussion explores why cross-culturally similar relationships exist between emotional support and subjective well-being for married elders in two such apparently different societies.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Humans; India; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Marriage; Middle Aged; Models, Psychological; Parent-Child Relations; Personal Satisfaction; Self-Assessment; Social Support; United States
PubMed: 7757828
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/50b.1.s35 -
Social Science Research Mar 2018Although the health-relevant resources that marriage is argued to provide vary by socioeconomic status (SES), little research has examined whether the association of...
Although the health-relevant resources that marriage is argued to provide vary by socioeconomic status (SES), little research has examined whether the association of marriage with psychological well-being varies by SES. Focusing on depressive symptoms as an outcome and using a two-stage Heckit procedure with multilevel modeling, results from analyses of four waves of data (n = 4340 person-waves) from the American Changing Lives Survey (ACL) shows that differences in depressive symptoms between never-married and married adults varies by adjusted household income. Depressive symptoms are highest among the never married, and differences from the married greatest, at the lowest levels of income. As income increases these differences are eliminated. The conditioning effect of income is partially mediated by financial security, self-efficacy, and social support from friends and relatives. The implications of these findings for U.S. marriage promotion policies are discussed.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Depression; Emotional Adjustment; Female; Humans; Income; Male; Marital Status; Marriage; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Self Efficacy; Social Class; Social Support; Socioeconomic Factors; United States; Young Adult
PubMed: 29514762
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.12.008 -
Demography Apr 2018In recent decades, cohabitation has become an increasingly important relationship context for U.S. adults and their children, a union status characterized by high levels... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
In recent decades, cohabitation has become an increasingly important relationship context for U.S. adults and their children, a union status characterized by high levels of instability. To understand why some cohabiting couples marry but others separate, researchers have drawn on theories emphasizing the benefits of specialization, the persistence of the male breadwinner norm, low income as a source of stress and conflict, and rising economic standards associated with marriage (the marriage bar). Because of conflicting evidence and data constraints, however, important theoretical questions remain. This study uses survival analysis with prospective monthly data from nationally representative panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation from 1996-2013 to test alternative theories of how money and work affect whether cohabiting couples marry or separate. Analyses indicate that the economic foundations of cohabiting couples' union transitions do not lie in economic specialization or only men's ability to be good providers. Instead, results for marriage support marriage bar theory: adjusting for couples' absolute earnings, increases in wealth and couples' earnings relative to a standard associated with marriage strongly predict marriage. For dissolution, couples with higher and more equal earnings are significantly less likely to separate. Findings demonstrate that within-couple earnings equality promotes stability, and between-couple inequalities in economic resources are critical in producing inequalities in couples' relationship outcomes.
Topics: Employment; Family Characteristics; Female; Humans; Income; Male; Marriage; Prospective Studies; Sex Factors; Stress, Psychological; Time Factors; United States
PubMed: 29470783
DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0651-1 -
Journal of Consulting Psychology Jun 1960
Topics: Health Services Needs and Demand; Humans; Marriage; Personal Satisfaction; Psychological Tests; Spouses
PubMed: 14404795
DOI: 10.1037/h0041881 -
Journal of Human Lactation : Official... Feb 2017Extended breastfeeding duration is common in India. Extended breastfeeding protects the infant from infectious disease and promotes child spacing. In the 1990s, the...
BACKGROUND
Extended breastfeeding duration is common in India. Extended breastfeeding protects the infant from infectious disease and promotes child spacing. In the 1990s, the median breastfeeding duration in India was 24 months. Research aim: This study aimed to investigate the median duration of breastfeeding in India and to identify the factors associated with extended breastfeeding to 24 months as recommended by the World Health Organization.
METHODS
This cross-sectional data analysis used nationally representative data from the 2011-2012 Indian Human Development Survey II. The outcome in this study was extended breastfeeding defined as breastfeeding to 24 months or more. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with extended breastfeeding.
RESULTS
The median duration of breastfeeding was 12 months; approximately 25% of women breastfed 24 months or more. Women were at greater odds of breastfeeding 24 months or more if the infant was a boy compared with a girl, if the women lived in a rural area compared with an urban area, if the women were married at a young age (< 17 vs. 20 years or older at marriage), and if the delivery was assisted by a friend or relative compared with a doctor.
CONCLUSION
The median duration of breastfeeding has decreased by 50% from 1992-1993 to 2011-2012. The women who continue to breastfeed 24 months or more tend to be more traditional (i.e., living in rural areas, marrying young, and having family/friends as birth attendants). Further research to study the health effect of decreased breastfeeding duration is warranted.
Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Breast Feeding; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; India; Logistic Models; Marriage; Prevalence; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time Factors
PubMed: 28099045
DOI: 10.1177/0890334416680179 -
Social Science & Medicine (1982) Nov 2014Non-marital cohabitation has become increasingly common and is suggested to offer similar mental-health benefits as marriage does. We studied levels and changes in...
Non-marital cohabitation has become increasingly common and is suggested to offer similar mental-health benefits as marriage does. We studied levels and changes in cohabiters' mental health five years before and five years after entering into marriage or separating, and compared long-term non-married and married cohabiters. We analysed changes in the three-month prevalence of psychotropic medication use (psycholeptics and psychoanaleptics, excluding medication for dementia) by proximity to non-marital transition and gender, using register data on 189,394 Finns aged 25 to 64. Similar levels of psychotropic-medication use were found among individuals in long unions that continued throughout the follow-up and were non-marital, marital, or changed from non-marital to marital. Among men and women who separated from longer cohabiting unions of more than five years, however, an increase in medication prevalence was observed immediately before separation, followed by a similar decline after separation. At the time of separation the level of medication use was 9.9 per cent (95% CI = 8.7 - 11.3) among men and 15.7 per cent (95% CI = 14.2 - 17.4) among women compared to 4.3 per cent (95% CI = 3.7 - 5.0) and 8.0 per cent (95% CI = 7.2 - 9.0), respectively, among those who cohabited continuously. No changes in medication use were observed before or after separation among those leaving shorter cohabiting unions of less than five years. Among those marrying following shorter cohabiting unions a positive effect of approaching marriage was observed only among women. Compared to continuous cohabiters, the level of medication use was higher among men and women separating from both short-term and long-term cohabiting unions five years before separation. This selective effect suggests that cohabiters with mental-health problems might benefit from relationship counselling. In a long-term stable union it seems to matter little for mental health whether the union is marital or non-marital, the break-up of a long-term non-marital union being strongly associated with adverse mental-health effects.
Topics: Adult; Divorce; Family Characteristics; Female; Finland; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Marriage; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Psychotropic Drugs; Sex Factors; Spouses
PubMed: 25306405
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.043 -
International Perspectives on Sexual... Mar 2013A considerable proportion of women worldwide are married during childhood. Although many studies have examined early marriage (before age 18), few have compared outcomes...
CONTEXT
A considerable proportion of women worldwide are married during childhood. Although many studies have examined early marriage (before age 18), few have compared outcomes or correlates among girls married during different stages of adolescence or have focused on girls married very early (before age 15).
METHODS
Data from a population-based survey conducted in 2009-2010 in seven Ethiopian regions were used to examine early marriage among 1,671 women aged 20-24. Cross-tabulations and logistic regression were used to compare characteristics and contextual factors among girls married before age 15, at ages 15-17 or at ages 18-19 and to identify factors associated with selected marital outcomes.
RESULTS
Seventeen percent of respondents had married before age 15 and 30% had married at ages 15-17. Most of those who married before age 18 had never been to school. Compared with young women who had married at ages 18-19, those married before age 15 were less likely to have known about the marriage beforehand (odds ratio, 0.2) and more likely to have experienced forced first marital sex (3.8). Educational attainment was positively associated with foreknowledge and wantedness of marriage and with high levels of marital discussions about fertility and reproductive health issues.
CONCLUSIONS
Initiatives addressing the earliest child marriages should focus on girls who have left or never attended school. Given the vulnerability of girls married before age 15, programs should pay special attention to delaying very early marriages.
Topics: Adolescent; Age Factors; Ethiopia; Female; Humans; Male; Marriage; Spouse Abuse; Time Factors; Young Adult
PubMed: 23584463
DOI: 10.1363/3900613 -
The Journals of Gerontology. Series B,... Jan 2016We evaluate (a) associations between marital quality (emotional support, strain, and overall appraisal) and three negative aspects of experienced well-being...
OBJECTIVES
We evaluate (a) associations between marital quality (emotional support, strain, and overall appraisal) and three negative aspects of experienced well-being (frustration, sadness, and worry) among older husbands and wives and (b) the relative importance of own versus spouse's marital quality assessments for understanding experienced well-being in later life.
METHOD
Data are from the 2009 Disability and Use of Time daily diary supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 722). We estimate actor-partner interdependence models, using seemingly unrelated regression.
RESULTS
Own reports of marital strain are associated with own frustration, sadness, and worry among wives and are associated with frustration only among husbands. Own reports of marital support are associated with negative emotion among husbands only: higher levels of marital support are associated with less worry. Results from partner effects analyses also are mixed. Husbands' reports of marital strain are associated with wives' elevated frustration levels, whereas wives' reports of greater marital support are associated with their husbands' higher frustration levels.
DISCUSSION
One's own and spouse's marital appraisals play a complex role in shaping negative emotions among older adults. Findings suggest that frustration is a particularly complex emotion and a promising area for further study among older married couples.
Topics: Aged; Aging; Depression; Family Conflict; Female; Frustration; Health Surveys; Humans; Male; Marriage; Middle Aged; Personal Satisfaction; Socioeconomic Factors; Spouses; Statistics as Topic; United States
PubMed: 26329115
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbv073