Differentials in separation and divorce among blacks are compared to those among whites. Differences in marital instability depend heavily on the variables included for study. The paper concludes with a methodological analysis of alternative definitions of instability with a focus on the measurement of black white differences. (EH)

According to a study of 256 black married women between the ages of 26 and 60 living with their spouses, marital happiness is more common among black women than marital unhappiness. This finding is based on the secondary analysis of a sample of data collected in Detroit in 1968-1969. Variables statistically significant to the marital happiness of…

An instrument labeled the Personal Report of Spouse Communication Apprehension was developed and found to have adequate internal consistency, face validity, and predictive validity. Results of its use indicate that spouse communication apprehension is conceptually and factorially distinct from general communication apprehension. (Author)

The hypothetical constructs of attraction and barrier forces, as well as contrasting alternative attractions are used to organize the research literature on the determinants of marital stability and dissolution. (Author/AM)

Examines hypothesized consumption and finance-handling differences between couples who subsequently become divorced or remained happily married. Happily married couples were found to practice role specialization, with greater influence of the wife and less husband dominance in family finance handling, and greater joint and wife influence in…

Hypothetically, earlier marriages are more likely to dissolve, but reasons for this are as yet unclear. A longitudinal analysis of a cohort of 259 couples revealed that those who married later, had more education, and did not experience unemployment, were more likely to remain in a stable marriage. (KH)

This article points out many possible danger signals, and suggests some reasons why they are often overlooked or ignored, either by the principals or by their friends and relatives. (CJ)

This study deals with the relationship between number and spacing of children and family role structure as measured by decision making and household task performance. Data on childbearing patterns and family role structure indicate that family size, spacing between marriage and first birth, and spacing between first and last birth are all related…

Examined husbands' appraisals of five marital events which were recorded daily for 90 consecutive days. Subjects (N=20) appraised events according to four qualities: desirability, changingness, meaningfulness, and control. Found no differences in how husbands from distressed and nondistressed marriages viewed events. (Author)

Presents research findings that marriage enrichment participants are neither as satisfied with their marriages as nonparticipants nor as dissatisified as those couples who request marriage counseling. Compared pretreatment levels of marital satisfaction of enrichment participants with published norms and the scores of control couples. (Author/RC)

Focuses on the spousal relationship of gay men who had been married. Describes the man's disclosure of his homosexuality, the wife's response, and the interactional effects on the marriage relationship. Suggests the wife appeared to be an enabler of his transition to a homosexual life-style. (Author/JAC)

Indicates changes in the law that are needed to deal with new problems resulting from the redefinition of women's role in society. (RH)

Compares reported levels of marital quality, marital stability, and the marital processes of cohesion, flexibility, and communication in the marriages of nontraditional and traditional women. Results indicated many similarities between the two groups; however, nontraditional women reported greater flexibility in their marriages. Implications of…

Marital interaction processes that are predictive of divorce or marital stability and processes that discriminate between happily and unhappily married stable couples are explored (N=130). Seven types of process models are examined, and results are discussed. Divorce and stability were predicted with 83% accuracy, and satisfaction with 80%…