Study Kamp Dush et al. (2008): study US 1980 /1
- Public
- Married people, USA, followed 20 years 1980-2000
- Survey name
- US-Longitudinal study Instability of marriage over life course
- Sample
- Respondents
- N = 2034
- Non Response
- 53% at wave 6
- Assessment
- Interview: Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI)
Correlate
- Authors's Label
- Marital happiness: earlier and later
- Our Classification
-
-
- Error Estimates
- T1 Cronbach Aplha= 0,86
- Remarks
- Assessed 6 times over 20 years T1: 1980 T2: 1984 T3: 1989 T4: 1994 T5: 1999 T6: 2000 In all three patterns T6 marital satisfaction is similar to T1 (baseline)
- Distribution
-
3: 38%, 2: 41%, 1: 21%
T1 level for all on range 0-2: M = 1,64, SD = 0,42 - Operationalization
- Pattern of marital happiness over 20 years
3: consistently high level (reference)
2: U-shaped at middle level
1; U shaped at lower level
Based on repeated self report on 7 questions on
a: understanding received from spouse,
b: amount of love received,
c: sexual relationship,
d: spouse as someone to do things with,
e: spouse’s faithfulness.
f: global evaluation of marriage
0 not too happy
1 pretty happy
2 very happy
f: strenght of feeling of love for spouse
0 not too strong or not strong at all
1 pretty srrong
2 very or extremely strong
Observed Relation with Happiness
- consistently high level OR = 3,74 (001)
- U-shaped at middele level OR = 1,17 (ns)
- U-shaped at lower level OR = 0,23 (001)
OR controled for T1
- family situation
- age at marriage
- pre-marital cohabitation
- children below 18
- remarried
- parents
- education
- incomme
- employment
- attitudes to
- gender
- flily
Happiness did not change among Ss consistently high marital satisfaction but declined among Ss low in satisfaction who followed a U-shaped trajectory
- children below 18
- family income
- use of public assistance
- wife ermployed full time
- womans' working hours
- husband employed
- husband share of household work
- equal decision making
- traditional gender attitudes
- traditional marriage attitudes