How Important is Marital Fairness over the Lifespan?

Abstract

Do marital relationships become more equitable over time? Is a sense of fairness or equity in marriage equally important at different points across the lifespan? To answer these and related equity/intimacy questions, a sample of middle-aged and older married women was asked to describe the level of equity in their marriages at eight points across their lifespan and their feelings about the equity/inequity at each point. The aggregated results suggested women begin a marriage with a sense of overbenefit, move into a period of underbenefit during their middle years, and finally feel fairly treated in late middle age. The disaggregated data revealed three distinct patterns of equity/inequity over the lifespan. Women's reactions to the level of equity at each stage followed the predicted curvilinear pattern.