Marital happiness, marital duration, and the u-shaped curve: Evidence from a five-wave panel study

Social Forces

Volumn 79, Issue 4, 2001, Pages 1313-1341

  Vanlaningham, Jody ^a   Johnson, David R ^a   Amato, Paul ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN   (United States)

^b University of Nebraska ^*

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035535071     PISSN: 00377732     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/sof.2001.0055     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. Aldous, Joan. 1978. Family Careers: Developmental Change in Families. Wiley.
2. Allison, Paul D. 1994. "Using Panel Data to Estimate the Effects of Events." Sociological Methods and Research 23:174-99.
3. Amato, Paul R., and Alan Booth. 1995. "Changes in Gender Role Attitudes and Perceived Marital Quality." American Sociological Review 60:58-66.
4. Amato, Paul R., and Stacy J. Rogers. 1999. "Do Attitudes toward Divorce Affect Marital Quality?" Journal of Family Issues 20:69-86.
5. Anderson, Stephen A., Candyce S. Russell, and Walter R. Schumm. 1983. "Perceived Marital Quality and Family Life-Cycle Categories: A Further Analysis." Journal of Marriage and the Family 45:127-39.
6. Bellah, Robert N., Richard Madsen, William N. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven N. Tipton. 1985. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. University of California Press.
7. Belsky, Jay, Graham Spanier, and Michael Rovine. 1983. "Stability and Change in Marriage across the Transition to Parenthood." Journal of Marriage and the Family 45:567-77.
8. Blood, Robert O., and Donald M. Wolfe. 1960. Husbands and Wives: The Dynamics of Married Living. Free Press.
9. Booth, Alan. 1999. "Causes and Consequences of Divorce: Reflections on Recent Research." Pp. 29-48 in The Postdivorce Family: Children, Parenting, and Society, edited by Ross A. Thompson and Paul R. Amato. Sage Publications.
10. Booth, Alan, Paul R. Amato, David R. Johnson, and John N. Edwards. 1999. Marital Instability over the Life Course: Methodology Report for Fifth Wave. Bureau of Sociological Research.
11. Booth, Alan, and David R. Johnson. 1985. "Tracking Respondents in a Telephone Interview Panel Selected by Random Digit Dialing." Sociological Methods and Research 14:53-64.
12. Booth, Alan, David R. Johnson, Lynn K. White, and John N. Edwards. 1984. "Women, Outside Employment, and Marital Instability." American Journal of Sociology 90:567-83.
13. Burr, Wesley R. 1970. "Satisfaction with Various Aspects of Marriage over the Life Cycle: A Random Middle Class Sample." Journal of Marriage and the Family 32:29-37.
14. Call, Vaughn, Susan Sprecher, and Pepper Schwartz. 1995. "The Incidence and Frequency of Marital Sex in a National Sample." Journal of Marriage and the Family 57:639-52.
15. Cherlin, Andrew J. 1996. Public and Private Families. McGraw-Hill.
16. Cherlin, Andrew J., P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, and Christine McRae. 1998. "Effects of Parental Divorce on Mental Health throughout the Life Course." American Sociological Review 63:239-49.
17. Cohen, J. 1988. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2d ed. Lawrence Erlbaum.
18. Collins, Randall, and Scott Coltrane. 1995. Sociology of Marriage and the Family: Gender, Love, and Property. 4th ed. Nelson-Hall.
19. Condie, Spencer J., and Han T. Doan. 1978. "Role Profit and Marital Satisfaction throughout the Family Life Cycle." Journal of Comparative Family Studies 9:257-67.
20. Conger, Rand D., and Glenn H. Elder Jr. 1994. Families in Troubled Times: Adapting to Change in Rural America. Aldine de Gruyter.
21. Duvall, Evelyn M. 1977. Marriage and Family Development. 5th ed. Lippincott.
22. Featherman, David L., and Richard M. Lerner. 1985. "Ontogenesis and Sociogenesis: Problematics for Theory and Research about Development and Socialization across the Lifespan." American Sociological Review 50:659-76.
23. Fisher, Helen E. 1992. Anatomy of Love: The Natural History of Monogamy, Adultery, and Divorce. Norton.
24. Fox, John. 1991. Regression Diagnostics: An Introduction. Sage Publications.
25. Gelles, Richard J. 1995. Contemporary Families: A Sociological View. Sage Publications.
26. Gilford, Rosalie. 1984. "Contrasts in Marital Satisfaction throughout Old Age: An Exchange Theory Analysis." Journal of Gerontology 39:325-33.
27. Gilford, Rosalie, and Vern Bengtson. 1979. "Measuring Marital Satisfaction in Three Generations: Positive and Negative Dimensions." Journal of Marriage and the Family 41:387-98.
28. Glenn, Norval D. 1989. "Duration of Marriage, Family Composition, and Marital Happiness." National Journal of Sociology 3:3-24.
29. -. 1990. "Quantitative Research in Marital Quality in the 1980s: A Critical Review." Journal of Marriage and the Family 52:818-31.
30. -. 1991. "The Recent Trend of Marital Success in the United States." Journal of Marriage and the Family 53:261-70.
31. -. 1996. "Values, Attitudes, and the State of American Marriage." Pp. 15-34 in Promises to Keep: Decline and Renewal of Marriage in America, edited by David Popenoe, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and David Blankenhorn. Rowman and Littlefield.
32. -. 1998. "The Course of Marital Success and Failure in Five American 10-Year Marriage Cohorts." Journal of Marriage and the Family 60:569-76.
33. Glenn, Norval D., and Charles N. Weaver. 1978. "A Multivariate, Multisurvey Study of Marital Happiness." Journal of Marriage and the Family 40:269-82.
34. Gurin, Gerald, Joseph Veroff, and Sheila Feld. 1960. Americans View Their Mental Health. Basic Books.
35. Hamilton, Gilbert V. 1929. A Research in Marriage. Boni.
36. Hill, Rubin, and Paul Mattessich. 1979. "Family Development Theory and Life-Span Development." Pp. 162-204 in Life-Span Development and Behavior. Vol. 2, edited by Paul B. Baltes and Orville Gilbert Brim Jr. Academic Press.
37. Hochschild, Arlie R. 1989. The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home. Viking Press.
38. Houseknecht, Sharon K. 1979. "Childlessness and Marital Adjustment." Journal of Marriage and the Family 41:259-65.
39. Hudson, Walter W, and Gerald J. Murphy. 1980. "The Non-Linear Relationship between Marital Satisfaction and Stages of the Family Life Cycle: An Artifact of Type I Errors?" Journal of Marriage and the Family 42:263-67.
40. Huston, Ted L., and Renate M. Houts. 1998. "The Psychological Infrastructure of Courtship and Marriage: The Role of Personality and Compatibility in Romantic Relationships." Pp. 114-51 in The Developmental Course of Marital Dysfunction, edited by Thomas N. Bradbury. Cambridge University Press.
41. Huston, Ted L., Susan M. McHale, and Ann C. Crouter. 1986. "When the Honeymoon Is Over: Changes in the Marriage Relationship over the First Year." Pp. 109-32 in The Emerging Field of Personal Relationships, edited by Robin Gilmour and Steve Duck. Lawrence Erlbaum.
42. Jasso, Guillermina. 1985. "Marital Coital Frequency and the Passage of Time: Estimating the Separate Effects of Spouses' Ages and Marital Duration, Birth and Marriage Cohorts, and Period Influences." American Sociological Review 50:224-41.
43. Johnson, David R. 1995. "Alternative Methods for the Quantitative Analysis of Panel Data in Family Research: Pooled Time-Series Models." Journal of Marriage and the Family 57:1065-77.
44. Johnson, David R., Teodora O. Amoloza, and Alan Booth. 1992. "Stability and Developmental Change in Marital Quality: A Three-Wave Panel Analysis." Journal of Marriage and the Family 54:582-94.
45. Johnson, David R., and Alan Booth. 1998. "Marital Quality: A Product of the Dyadic Environment or Individual Factors?" Social Forces 76:883-904.
46. Johnson, David R., Lynn K. White, John N. Edwards, and Alan Booth. 1986. "Dimensions of Marital Quality: Toward Methodological and Conceptual Refinement." Journal of Family Issues 7:31-49.
47. Karney, Benjamin R., and Thomas N. Bradbury. 1995. "The Longitudinal Course of Marital Quality and Stability: A Review of Theory, Method, and Research." Psychological Bulletin 118:3-34.
48. Kurdek, Lawrence A. 1998. "Developmental Changes in Marital Satisfaction: A 6-Year Prospective Longitudinal Study of Newlywed Couples." Pp. 180-204 in The Developmental Course of Marital Dysfunction, edited by Thomas N. Bradbury. Cambridge University Press.
49. Lawson, David M. 1988. "Love Attitudes and Marital Adjustment in the Family Life Cycle." Sociological Spectrum 8:391-406.
50. Leonard, Kenneth E., and Linda J. Roberts. 1998. "Marital Aggression, Quality, and Stability in the First Year of Marriage: Findings from the Buffalo Newlywed Study." Pp. 44-73 in The Developmental Course of Marital Dysfunction, edited by Thomas N. Bradbury. Cambridge University Press.
51. Lichter, Daniel T., Diane K. McLaughlin, and David C. Ribar. 1997. "Welfare and the Rise in Female-Headed Families." American Journal of Sociology 103:112-43.
52. Lindahl, Kristin, Mari Clements, and Howard Markman. 1998. "The Development of Marriage: A 9-Year Perspective." Pp. 205-36 in The Developmental Course of Marital Dysfunction, edited by Thomas N. Bradbury. Cambridge University Press.
53. Lowe, C.F., Marc Richelle, Derek E. Blackman, and Christopher M. Bradshaw. 1985. Behaviour Analysis and Contemporary Psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum.
54. Lupri, Eugen, and James Frideres. 1981. "The Quality of Marriage and the Passage of Time: Marital Satisfaction over the Family Life Cycle." Canadian Journal of Sociology 6:283-305.
55. Markides, Kyriakos S., Jan Roberts-Jolly, Laura A. Ray, Sue K. Hoppe, and Laura Rudkin. 1999. "Changes in Marital Satisfaction in Three Generations of Mexican Americans." Research on Aging 21:36-45.
56. McHale, Susan M., and Ted L. Huston. 1985. "The Effect of the Transition to Parenthood on the Marriage Relationship: A Longitudinal Study." Journal of Family Issues 6:409-34.
57. McLanahan, Sara S., and J. Adams. 1989. "The Effects of Children on Parents' Psychological Well-Being: 1957-1976." Social Forces 68:1124-1146.
58. Medling, James M., and Michael McCarrey. 1981. "Marital Adjustment over Segments of the Family Life Cycle: The Issue of Spouses' Value Similarity." Journal of Marriage and the Family 43:195-203.
59. Menaghan, Elizabeth. 1983. "Marital Stress and Family Transition: A Panel Analysis." Journal of Marriage and the Family 45:371-86.
60. Miller, Brent C. 1976. "A Multivariate Developmental Model of Marital Satisfaction." Journal of Marriage and the Family 38:643-57.
61. Myers, Scott, and Alan Booth. 1996. "Men's Retirement and Marital Quality." Journal of Family Issues 17:336-57.
62. Nock, Steven L. 1979. "The Family Life Cycle: Empirical or Conceptual Tool?" Journal of Marriage and the Family 41:15-26.
63. -. 1998. "The Consequences of Parental Fatherhood." American Sociological Review 63:250-63.
64. Orbuch, Terri L., James S. House, Richard P. Mero, and Pamela S. Webster. 1996. "Marital Quality over the Life Course." Social Psychology Quarterly 59:162-71.
65. Pina, Darlene L., and Vern L. Bengtson. 1993. "The Division of Household Labor and Wives' Happiness: Ideology, Employment, and Perceptions of Support." Journal of Marriage and the Family 55:901-12.
66. Peterson, Candida C. 1990. "Husbands' and Wives' Perceptions of Marital Fairness across the Family Life Cycle." International Journal of Aging and Human Development 31:179-88.
67. Pineo, Peter C. 1961. "Disenchantment in the Later Years of Marriage." Marriage and Family Living 23:3-11.
68. Popenoe, David. 1988. Disturbing the Nest: Family Change and Decline in Modern Societies. Aldine de Gruyter.
69. Renne, Karen S. 1970. "Correlates of Dissatisfaction in Marriage." Journal of Marriage and the Family 32:54-67.
70. Robinson, John P., and Geoffrey Godbey. 1997. Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time. Pennsylvania State University Press.
71. Rodgers, Roy H. 1964. "Toward a Theory of Family Development." Journal of Marriage and the Family 28:262-70.
72. Rogers, Stacy J., and Paul R. Amato. 1997. "Is Marital Quality Declining? Evidence from Two Generations." Social Forces 75:1089-1100.
73. Rollins, Boyd C., and Kenneth L. Cannon. 1974. "Marital Satisfaction over the Family Life Cycle: A Reevaluation." Journal of Marriage and the Family 36:271-82.
74. Rollins, Boyd C., and Harold H. Feldman. 1970. "Marital Satisfaction over the Family Life Cycle." Journal of Marriage and the Family 32:20-28.
75. Rollins, Boyd C., and Richard Galligan. 1978. "The Developing Child and Marital Satisfaction of Parents." Pp. 71-105 in Child Influences on Marital and Family Interaction, edited by Richard M. Lerner and Graham B. Spanier. Academic Press.
76. Sabatelli, Ronald M., and Constance L. Shehan. 1993. "Exchange and Resource Theories." Pp. 385-411 in Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods: A Contextual Approach, edited by P.G. Boss, W.J. Doherty, R. LaRossa, W.R. Schumm, and S.K. Steinmetz. Plenum.
77. Smart, Mollie S., and Russell C. Smart. 1975. "Recalled, Present, and Predicted Satisfaction in Stages of the Family Life Cycle in New Zealand." Journal of Marriage and the Family 37:408-15.
78. Spain, Daphne, and Suzanne M. Bianchi. 1996. Balancing Act. Russell Sage Foundation.
79. Spanier, Graham B., and Robert A. Lewis. 1980. "Marital Quality: A Review of the Seventies." Journal of Marriage and the Family 42:825-39.
80. Spanier, Graham B., Robert A. Lewis, and Charles L. Cole. 1975. "Marital Adjustment over the Family Life Cycle: The Issue of Curvilinearity." Journal of Marriage and the Family 37:263-75.
81. StataCorp. 1999. Stata Statistical Software: Release 6.0. Stata Corporation.
82. Sweet, James A., and Larry L. Bumpass. 1987. American Families and Households. Russell Sage Foundation.
83. Thompson, Linda. 1991. "Family Work: Women's Sense of Fairness." Journal of Family Issues 12:181-96.
84. Thornton, Arland. 1989. "Changing Attitudes toward Family Issues in the United States." Journal of Marriage and the Family 51:873-93.
85. Vaillant, Caroline O., and George E. Vaillant. 1993. "Is the U-Curve of Marital Satisfaction an Illusion? A 40-Year Study of Marriage." Journal of Marriage and the Family 55:230-39.
86. Voydanoff, Patricia. 1988. "Work Role Characteristics, Family Structure Demands, and Work/ Family Conflict." Journal of Marriage and the Family 50:749-61.
87. Weishaus, Sylvia, and Dorothy Field. 1988. "A Half Century of Marriage: Continuity or Change?" Journal of Marriage and the Family 50:763-74.
88. White, Lynn K., and Alan Booth. 1985. "The Transition to Parenthood and Marital Quality." Journal of Family Issues 6:435-50.
89. White, Lynn K., Alan Booth, and John N. Edwards. 1986. "Children and Marital Happiness: Why the Negative Correlation?" Journal of Family Issues 7:131-47.
90. White, Lynn K., and John Edwards. 1990. "Emptying the Nest and Parental Well-Being: Evidence from National Panel Data." American Sociological Review 55:235-42.