This study examined the degree to which mothers' perceptions of their marital relationships, the support provided to them by their mothers and others, and their adjustment to pregnancy and motherhood, were associated with success at initiating and maintaining lactation during the first year after their child's birth. The incidence and duration of…

Past research has suggested that the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMS) is a brief, reliable, and valid measure of marital satisfaction. This study was conducted to: (1) examine responses on the KMS from a national sample of couples; (2) assess the construct validity of the KMS through a comparison with the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment…

This paper provides an overview of the results of a 20-month review of the popular, professional, and research literature on dual-career couples undertaken to advance the theory and practice of career counseling with dual-career couples. The results described have direct application to assessing normative dilemmas and themes that occur during…

Previous research has shown that among married couples, housewives experience the highest levels of psychological distress, employed husbands the least, and employed wives experience levels of stress somewhere in between. This study examines whether employed wives' symptomatology can be explained by the extent of their influence within the…

Longitudinal research has shown that communication deficits (negative interaction) precede the development of relationship distress. To investigate the antecedents of relationship stability and adjustment 31 couples who were seriously considering marriage participated in a longitudinal study. The couples initially completed the Marital Inventories…

Women today may combine the roles of wife, parent, paid worker, and caregiver to an elderly relative. These women may be experiencing role strain and it is not known what factors might contribute to this strain. This study examines the relationships among multiple role assumption, role satisfaction, and caregiver's health with multiple role…

It is well documented that women experience more stress than do men prior to the decision to divorce, but that women experience less stress, and better adjustment in general, than do men after divorce. Three possible reasons for why women fare better than men have been suggested. First, women are more attuned to relationships, and relational…

Correlates of father involvement were examined in 40 dual- and single-earner families with 1- to 25-month-old children. Fathers' work hours, sex role attitudes, perceived child care skill and perceived love for wives were assessed. On nine occasions, parents were asked to report on child care, leisure activities, and marital interactions during…

Questioned dual-career (N=70) and dual-earner couples (N=42) to assess the influence of perception of equity, role relations, and family type on marital and individual adjustment. Found equity to be a significant factor affecting adjustment for both husbands and wives, while role relations was a significant factor only for wives. (Author/ABB)

Examined factors that influenced the concordant perceptions of 28 distressed and 28 nondistressed husbands and wives and trained coders who observed samples of their own and another couple's problem solving. Correlational analyses suggested greater insider-outsider perceptual agreement for distressed than nondistressed couples and for negative…

This study examined the impact of parental marriage quality on two aspects of self-esteem in their adolescent children, mediated by parent-adolescent relationship quality. Participating in the study were mothers, fathers, and 16- to 18-year-olds from 54 intact families. The first assessment was completed before the adolescents left middle school,…

Evaluates extent to which cohabitation is similar to marriage among black, and white Americans ages 19-48 using data from the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households. Cohabitors reported poorer relationship quality than their married counterparts. Majority of cohabitors planned to marry their partner; these cohabitors are involved in…

Family systems theory was employed to study sibling relationships in 50 families with a child (ages 4-12) with autism. Typically developing siblings expressed satisfaction with their sibling relationships. Parents were somewhat less positive about the sibling relationships. Stress in the marital relationship was associated with compromised sibling…

This study examined factors influencing professional achievement of three newly married, gifted women recently graduated from college. Major findings include that participants attributed a significant part of their identities to their status as high achievers. Identify was also influenced by foundational influences, personality characteristics,…

Assessed the intelligence, attachment security, and dependency of 30 18-month-olds. Half of the infants' mothers were employed full time and half were nonemployed mothers. Studied were factors in mothers' lives such as stress, marital relationship, social contacts, and supports. Results suggest that different models to predict infant outcome in…