Marital Quality, Communal Strength, and Physical Health

Much of the extant literature on marital quality and health has examined marital quality as a static, global construct, measured at a single assessment. However, marital quality is a dynamic construct that fluctuates over time, particularly in the early years of marriage. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether changes in overall marital satisfaction and communal strength are associated with mental and physical health symptoms assessed via the SF-36 in a cohort of newlywed couples (N = 74 couples). Marital measures including marital satisfaction (MS) and communal strength (CS) were collected at baseline (26 days prior to marriage) and approximately 2 years later. The SF-36 was administered 3 years following baseline. Results showed that baseline MS and CS were associated with significantly fewer mental and physical health symptoms (p's < .05). Independent of baseline level, decreases in CS were associated with poorer mental health (B = .06, SE = .03). There were no sex differences in the effects. Controlling for depressive symptoms reduced the effects of baseline MS and CS on mental and physical health to non-significance. However, the effect of change in CS on mental health remained significant after controlling for depressive symptoms (B = .05, SE = .02). The present findings suggest that even in the early stages of marriage, lower initial levels of marital satisfaction and spousal responsiveness to needs (communal strength) as well as changes in communal strength are associated with increased mental and physical health symptoms

Sensory Aids Research

Contains reports on three research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-02)National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)United States Air Force, Electronic Systems Division (Contract AF19(628)-258

Cognitive Information Processing

Contains reports on four research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 P01 GM-14940-01)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 PO1 GM-15006-01)Joint Services Electronics Programs (U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force) under Contract DA 28-043-AMC-02536(E