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Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 23, No. 6, 843-864 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407506068266

Spouses’ gender-typed attributes and their links with marital quality: A pattern analytic approach

Heather M. Helms

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, heather_helms{at}uncg.edu

Christine M. Proulx

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Mary Maguire Klute

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

Susan M. McHale

Pennsylvania State University

Ann C. Crouter

Pennsylvania State University

Using data from interviews with 194 midlife couples, we: (i) identified a typology of couple groups based on spouses’ gender-typed attributes; (ii) described couple groups in terms of individual, contextual, and attitudinal characteristics; and (iii) linked couple groups with emotional, cognitive, and behavioral qualities of marriage across 3 years. Four couple types that differed in spouses’ instrumental and expressive attributes were identified and replicated via cluster analysis. Gender-typed wives/extreme gender-typed-husband couples reported significantly lower levels of marital quality across the 3 years. Underscoring the importance of a dyadic approach, the research identifies common couple configurations based on spouses’ gender-typed attributes, identifies couples with lower marital quality, and offers insights into personal-social attributes that may be protective in marriage.

Key Words: gender roles • gender typing • marital quality • marriage • personal-social attributes

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