The Missing Link: Marital Virtues andtheir Relationship to Individual Functioning, Communication, and Relationship Adjustment

Relationship adjustment research is being expanded beyond established connections with communication and individual functioning. In recent years, researchers have looked to positive psychology and virtues. That research shifts the focus from psychopathology and communication to more core values and ways of being. The present study seeks to expand this knowledge base using Blaine Fowers (2000) framework of marital virtues. His framework views what a person puts into an intimate relationship as an important predictor of relationship adjustment. The present study uses this framework in conjunction with previous research to examine the direct and indirect links amongst individual functioning, marital virtues, communication, and marital adjustment. Data were collected from a sample of 422 married and cohabitating individuals using a self-report survey. Marital virtues and communication were found to partially mediate the relationship between individual well-being and relationship adjustment. In addition, communication was found to partially mediate the relationship between marital virtues and relationship adjustment. Findings provide initial support for the notion that character strengths matter to both communication and relationship adjustment

Toward programmatic research on virtue assessment: Challenges and prospects

Poor construct definition has characterized research on virtue, beginning with Hartshorne and May’s honesty studies and continuing to the present. Recently, scholars have begun to define virtues in ways that improve the prospects for measuring virtue constructs, but a coordinated, programmatic approach is necessary for success in virtue measurement. A brief overview of the construct of virtue includes six key elements that can structure virtue assessment design. Recent research on the trait/situation problem suggests that situational factors do not obviate traits. Veridicality issues such as social desirability and positive illusions are significant challenges for self-report virtue measurement. In summary self-report measures, these challenges can be met with a number of methods, including directly assessing social desirability and item construction to remove social desirability. These challenges can also be met using other-reports, experience sampling, or experimental procedures. A brief discussion of construct validity in virtue measurement leads to the conclusion that many studies with a variety of methods are necessary to establish valid measures of virtue