Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of perceived family-of-origin health and recently experienced stress to predict an individual's marital satisfaction. Another purpose was to determine the ability of length of marriage, yearly family income, and spouse's marital satisfaction to predict marital satisfaction. Finally, the relationship of a social desirability response set in the prediction of marital satisfaction was also examined. The sample consisted of parents of students attending a large southwestern university. Participation was totally voluntary with participation of both spouses being the only requirement. A total of 254 individuals, or 127 couples, returned usable survey booklets. Analysis was conducted on males, females and the total group. Results indicated that respondents' perceived family-of-origin health, and spouses' marital satisfaction are significant positive predictors of marital satisfaction. This was true for males and females separately as well as for the total group. Additionally, for males and the total group, stressful life events are a significant negative predictor of marital satisfaction. A limited number of other variables were also examined for prediction of marital satisfaction. When analyzing perceived family-of-origin health separately, it was found that for males, females and the total group, perceived family-of-origin health of the respondent and the discrepancy between perceived family-of-origin health of the spouses significantly contributed to the prediction of marital satisfaction. However, the perceived family-of-origin health of the spouse is not a significant contributor. Separate examination of stressful life events indicated that this is a significant predictor for males and the total group but not for females. Spouse's stressful life events are not significant for males, females or the total group. It was also found that length of marriage and yearly family income were not significant in predicting marital satisfaction. However, marital satisfaction of the spouse was a highly significant predictor of the respondent's marital satisfaction. Finally, a social desirability response index was found not to be significant in predicting marital satisfaction.
Ott, John Allen (1987). The relationships among marital satisfaction, perceived family of origin health, and stressful life events. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -746708.