The Role of Husbands’ and Wives’ Emotional Expressivity in the Marital Relationship

The current investigation was designed to examine the role of positive and negative emotional expressivity in the marital relationship. Data from 58 married couples were used to assess spouses’ levels of emotional expressivity and how these levels predicted reports of marital functioning. Regression analyses indicated that positive emotional expressivity had limited influence on marital functioning. Negative expressivity, however, had a strong impact on marital love, conflict, and ambivalence. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant differences between pairings in which the husband was high in negative expressivity, irrespective of wives’ negative emotional expressivity, and pairings in which both partners were low in negative emotional expressivity. These findings are discussed with respect to previous research that suggests that wives’ emotional expressivity is the major determinant of marital functioning.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45641/1/11199_2005_Article_3726.pd

Employment, Family, and Perceptions of Marital Quality Among Husbands and Wives

Previous studies of work/family linkages have emphasized the effects of one domain or the other on the individual, yet few have sought to analyze the interconnective nature of paid labor and family environments. Using data from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households, this study examines the effects of husbands' and wives' employment and marriage characteristics on their respective perceptions of marital quality. Contrary to previous findings, occupational factors have only a minimal effect on both husbands' and wives' perceptions of marital quality. Husbands and wives are both affected by wives' opinions of fairness in the marriage. The results also suggest that husbands may maintain traditional role expectations for themselves and their wives, despite the dual-earner status of their marriage. The implications of these findings for gender roles in dual-earner marriages are discussed.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline