Long-Term Marriage: Age, Gender, and Satisfaction

Long-term marriages ( N = 156) varying in spouses' age (40-50 years or 60-70 years) and relative marital satisfaction (satisfied and dissatisfied) were studied. Spouses independently completed demographic, marital, and health questionnaires and then participated in a laboratory-based procedure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology and aging 1993-06, Vol.8 (2), p.301-313
Main Authors: Levenson, Robert W, Carstensen, Laura L, Gottman, John M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult. Elderly
Age Differences
Aged
Aging - psychology
Attitude to Health
Biological and medical sciences
Conflict (Psychology)
Developmental psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gender Identity
Health
Human
Human Sex Differences
Humans
Husbands
Male
Marital Conflict
Marital Satisfaction
Marriage
Marriage - psychology
Middle Aged
Personal Satisfaction
Pleasure
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Quality of Life
Time Factors
Wives
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Summary:Long-term marriages ( N = 156) varying in spouses' age (40-50 years or 60-70 years) and relative marital satisfaction (satisfied and dissatisfied) were studied. Spouses independently completed demographic, marital, and health questionnaires and then participated in a laboratory-based procedure focused on areas of conflict and sources of pleasure. Findings supported a positive view of older marriages. Compared with middle-aged marriages, older couples evidenced (a) reduced potential for conflict and greater potential for pleasure in several areas (including children), (b) equivalent levels of overall mental and physical health, and (c) lesser gender differences in sources of pleasure. The relation between marital satisfaction and health was stronger for women than for men. In satisfied marriages, wives' and husbands' health was equivalent; in dissatisfied marriages, wives reported more mental and physical health problems than did their husbands.
ISSN:0882-7974
1939-1498
DOI:10.1037/0882-7974.8.2.301