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Incremental change or initial differences? Testing two models of marital deterioration.

Justin A Lavner¹, Thomas N Bradbury, Benjamin R Karney

¹UCLA, Department of Psychology, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA. jlavner@ucla.edu

Journal of Family Psychology : JFP : Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)

|June 20, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Most couples maintain high marital satisfaction, with initial differences, not changes over time, predicting relationship decline. Early indicators of risk strongly influence long-term relationship satisfaction outcomes.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Sociology
Family Studies

Background:

Marital satisfaction trajectories vary significantly among newlyweds.
Understanding the drivers of these diverse outcomes is crucial for relationship science.

Purpose of the Study:

To test whether marital satisfaction outcomes are driven by initial differences or by changes over time.
To identify distinct relationship satisfaction trajectories in the first four years of marriage.

Main Methods:

Utilized 8 waves of data from 251 newlywed couples over 4 years.
Identified 3 distinct relationship satisfaction trajectory groups.
Assessed initial scores and 4-year changes in predictors like relationship problems, aggression, stress, and self-esteem.

Main Results:

The majority of couples showed high, stable marital satisfaction.
Declining satisfaction was concentrated in couples with initially lower satisfaction.
Initial predictor variable scores were stronger predictors of outcome groups than changes over time.

Conclusions:

Readily measurable initial differences are potent predictors of marital deterioration.
Further research is needed to understand how initial risk factors influence changes in relationship satisfaction judgments.