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Marital Happiness and Spousal Consensus on Beliefs about Marital Conflict: A Longitudinal Investigation

University of Wisconsin-Madison

The relationship between marital happiness and spousal consensus on beliefs about marital conflict was assessed for 133 black and 149 white couples who were randomly selected from among all couples applying for marriage licenses in Wayne County, Ml in the spring of 1986. The relationship between happiness and beliefs about conflict was examined in the first year of marriage (Time 1) and 2 years later (Time 2). Results showed that, first, there was little agreement between spouses on beliefs about conflict at either Time 1 or Time 2. Second, spousal consensus was not highly associated with marital happiness concurrently or longitudinally. However, the content of the beliefs that partners hold about marital conflict was more important to their marital happiness than spousal consensus. For example, those husbands and wives who both believe that conflicts should be avoided at Time 1 reported lower marital happiness in the first year of marriage as well as 2 years later than those spouses who both believe that conflicts should not be avoided. The results were similar for black and white couples. Discussion focuses on the importance of assessing spouses' cognitions about conflict in order to understand the relationship between marital conflict and marital happiness more fully.

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