Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The author examined whether equality in 3 dimensions of marriage—power relations, division of household tasks, and equality in resources—affects marital quality as well as general life satisfaction in a sample of 120 elderly Israeli couples. Another goal of the research was to examine whether perceived past assistance from the spouse at a time of need affected the dependent variables and whether this effect was different for husbands and wives. The findings revealed similarities as well as differences in the variables that predict marital quality and general life satisfaction. The relationship among the predictors and the dependent variables was stronger for the wives than for their husbands. Past assistance from the spouse influenced quality of marriage and life satisfaction for both men and women. Moreover, the results revealed a cross-effect, indicating that one partner's reports of past assistance and equality in marriage affected the other's perceptions of marital quality and general life satisfaction.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams

J. S.

(1968). Inequity in social exchange. In Berkowitz

(Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267–299). New York: Academic Press.

Altergott

(1988). Social action and interaction in later life: Aging in the United States. In Altergott

(Ed.), Daily life in later life (pp. 117–146). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Atchley

(1992). Retirement and marital satisfaction. In Szinovacz

, Ekerdt

D. J.

, & Vinick

B. H.

(Eds.), Families and retirement (pp. 145–159). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Blood

R. O.

, & Wolfe

D. M.

(1960). Husbands and wives: The dynamics of married living. New York: Free Press.

Brody

E. M.

(1981). Women in the middle and family help to other people. The Gerontologist, 21, 471–480.

Brubaker

(1987). Working with the elderly: A social systems approach. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Crawford

M. P.

(1971). Retirement and disengagement. Human Relations, 24, 255–278.

Eisenberg

, & Lennon

(1988). Sex differences in empathy and related capacities. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 100–131.

Gilligan

(1982). In a different voice: Psychology and theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

10.

Gubrium

J. F.

(1988). Families’ responsibility and caregiving in the qualitative analysis of Alzheimer's disease experience. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 197–207.

11.

Harlow

R. E.

& Cantor

(1996). Still participating after all these years: A study of life task participation in later life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 1235–1249.

12.

Izraeli

D. N.

(1988). Burning out in medicine: A comparison of husbands and wives in dual career couples. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 3, 329–347.

13.

Jung

C. G.

(1971). The stage of life (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In Campbell

(Ed.), The portable Jung (pp. 3-22). New York: Viking. (Original work published 1933)

14.

Keith

P. M.

, & Schafer

R. B.

(1985). Equity role strains and depression among middle-aged and older men and women. In Peterson

W. A.

& Quadagno

(Eds.), Social bonds in later life: Aging and interdependence. (pp. 37–49). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

15.

Kelly

J. R.

, Steinkamp

M.W.

, & Kelly

J. R.

(1986). Later life leisure: How they play in Pretoria. The Gerontologist, 26, 531–544.

16.

Kulik

(1999). Continuity and discontinuity in marital life after retirement: Life orientations, gender role ideology, intimacy and satisfaction. Families in Society, 80, 286–294.

17.

Kulik

, & Zuckerman-Bareli

(1997). Continuity and discontinuity in attitudes toward marital power relations: Pre-retired vs. retired husbands. Ageing and Society, 17, 577–595.

18.

Lee

G. R.

, & Shehan

C. L.

(1989). Retirement and marital satisfaction. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 44, S226-S330.

19.

Lowenthal

M. F.

, & Haven

(1968). Interaction and adaptation: Intimacy as a critical variable. American Sociological Review, 33, 20–30.

20.

Mann-Kanovitz

(1977). The impact of instrumental and expressive needs of partners on division of tasks and marital satisfaction. Unpublished master's thesis, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

21.

Mason

(1987). A bed of roses? Women, marriage and inequality in later life. In Allot

, Keil

, Brynman

, & Bytheway

(Eds.), Women and the life cycle: Transitions and turning points. New York: St. Martins Press.

22.

Myers

D. G.

, & Diener

(1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6, 10–19.

23.

Peres

, & Katz

(1991). Mishpahot beyisrael: Shinuim vehemshehiut [The family in Israel: Change and continuity]. In Shamgar-Handelmann

& Bar-Yosef

(Eds.), Families in Israel (pp. 9–32). Jerusalem, Israel: Academon.

24.

Putnam

R. D.

(2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New-York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

25.

Vinick

B. H.

, & Ekerdt

D. J.

(1992). Couples view retirement activities: Expectation versus experience. In Szinovacz

, Ekerdt

D.J.

, Vinick

B.H.

(Eds.), Families and Retirement (pp. 129–144). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

26.

Walster

, Walster

G.W.

, & Bersheid

(1978). Equity: Theory and research. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Perceived Equality in Spousal Relations,Marital Quality,and Life Satisfaction: A Comparison of Elderly Wives and Husbands

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References