Gender Effects and Marital Satisfaction: A Brief Report from a Sample of Dual Military Couples from the 1992 Department of Defense Worldwide Survey of Members and Spouses

Abstract

Among 1,320 dual military couples who responded to the 1992 Department of Defense Worldwide Survey of Military Members and Spouses, female spouses reported lower marital satisfaction than male spouses (effect size = .14), a result comparable to previous research on sex differences in marital quality. However, no differences were observed for parental satisfaction, but female spouses were more satisfied with time their partners had available for family, although both spouses were much less satisfied with the latter than with either marital or parental relationships.