title: "His" and "her" marriage? The role of positive and negative marital characteristics in global marital satisfaction among older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We explore gender differences in older adults' appraisals of positive and negative aspects of their marriages, examine how these appraisals relate to global marital satisfaction, and identify distinctive marital profiles associated with global satisfaction in men and women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are from the Changing Lives of Older Couples Study (n = 1,110). We used a variant of principal components analysis to generate marital quality profiles, based on one's endorsement of positive and negative marital characteristics. OLS regression was used to detect associations between marital profiles and global marital satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Men offered more positive marital assessments than women, particularly on items reflecting positive treatment by one's wife. Three marital quality profiles emerged: Positive, Positive-Negative, and Negative. Although marital satisfaction was best explained by positive appraisals in both genders, they were less important for men than for women. The negative profile showed a tendency for a stronger prediction in men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prior studies show small differences in men's and women's global marital satisfaction. Our work provides evidence that the presence and magnitude of such gender differences may vary based on the specific marital component considered. We discuss ways that gender shapes marital interactions, expectations, and perceptions, and the implications of our results for the well-being of married older adults.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute on Aging, Jewish Home Lifecare/Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York. kboerner@jhha.org.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boerner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Daniela S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jopp
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sosinsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Se-Kang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Gender differences; Marital quality; Marital satisfaction; Marriage.
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