In this article, the authors examine the effects of subjective and organizational religious participation on marital stability over time for urban Black American couples and White American couples who participated in a longitudinal project. Their findings indicated that the role religiosity plays in the stability of marriage over time varied by gender and race. Black […]
Objective–This report presents prevalence estimates by marital status for selected health status and limitations, health conditions, and health risk behaviors among U.S. adults, using data from the 1999?2002 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS). Methods–Data for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population were collected using computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI). The household response rate for the NHIS was […]
Using data from six waves of the Study of Marital Instability over the Life Course (N = 1,998), the authors conducted a latent class analysis to test for distinct marital happiness trajectories. They found three distinct marital happiness trajectories: low, middle, and high happiness. Initial levels of life happiness were strongly associated with membership in […]
All over the industrialized world, marriage is in decline. Cohabitation, which has waxed as marriage has waned, is a much less stable relational form. In the US, half of all cohabiting relationships dissolve within eighteen months; in both North America and Europe, children born to cohabiting parents are two to four times more likely to […]
IThe authors identified and examined relationship trajectories among low-income parents, with particular attention to fathers and mothers who never marry but maintain potential for greater commitment. Through analyses of life history interviews with a diverse sample of 71 fathers in the Midwest, we used a life course framework to examine the process of relationship suspension. […]
In 1971 the first-marriage rate in England and Wales was 82.3. In 1981 it was 51.7, and the figure dropped consistently until 2001, when it reached 25.5, and it has remained at around that level since then. Such a change, familiar in other western countries, has naturally caused some bewilderment, even alarm. People who are […]
This study integrates relative resource theory and cultural perspectives on husband-to-wife authority to examine male-to-female physical violence reported by Asian American wives in the National Latino and Asian American Survey. Findings indicated that the association between marital violence and male household dominance is complicated by women’s income relative to husbands’. The authors speculate that when […]
This booklet emphasizes the importance of marriage in society and provides 101 strategies for strengthening marriages and families. Ideas include celebrating anniversaries of family and friends, starting a Marriage Hall of Fame in your community for those married for 40 years or more, organizing marriage retreats, developing a Strengthening Marriage Club, having a congregation or […]
Infidelity is a major cause of divorce and spousal battering. Little is known, however, about which individuals are susceptible to infidelity, or about the relationship contexts that promote infidelity. This study of 107 married couples examines three sets of possible predictors of infidelity: Personality factors such as narcissism and conscientiousness; relationship contexts, including recurrent sources […]
An addendum to the Family Wellness Instructor Manual for use by instructors for the development of programs and presentations on how to teach family wellness skills to families. ( A curriculum resource)