Relationship between comparative resources, marital power, and marital quality
Abstract
Past studies have shown that the balance of power in marriage is related to the quantity of resources of each spouse, with greater comparative resources being related to more power for that spouse. Research has also established that marital power and marital quality are related, with equality of power associated with a high level of marital quality. These findings point to the question of whether comparative resources are related to marital quality. This study explored the relationship between comparative resources, marital power, and marital quality. The specific resources studied were work hours, years employed, income, occupational status, education, and domestic roles. It was hypothesized that couples with more equal resources would have a more equal power distribution, that marital quality would increase as does equality in power, and that marital quality would increase as does equality in resources. Also, the relationship between sex-role attitude and individual resources, marital power, and marital quality was investigated on a post hoc basis. The subjects in this study were 117 married couples from four states. The sample was drawn from 15 institutions in the fields of education, health care, and business. The procedure called for subjects to independently complete questionnaires and mail them to the researcher. It was found that income, domestic roles, combined employment resources, and total resources were significantly related to marital power for the wives. There was a significant relationship between marital power and marital quality for the wives. The only resource significantly related to marital quality for the wives was domestic roles. None of the main analyses were significant for the husbands. In the post hoc study, it was found that, for both men and women, sex-role attitude significantly affected individual resources and marital power, but not marital quality. Indirect effects were also explored. It was concluded that the relationship between comparative resources, marital power, and marital quality differs for each sex. Sex-role attitude is relevant to the main variables investigated, but it is only partly explanatory.
Subject Area
Social psychology|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology|Psychology
Recommended Citation
Mancinelli-Briski, Jeanne Ann, "Relationship between comparative resources, marital power, and marital quality" (1991). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9123136.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9123136
