本論文的研究目的主要探討中老年再婚者之再婚經驗，希望藉由中老年再婚者的自身經驗，來理解他們再婚的動機、促成中老年再婚決定的情境與影響因素；以及再婚後的婚姻生活調適，並從財務管理及家務分工來探討夫妻權力分化之面貌。 本研究採用質性取向的研究方法，以半結構式的深度訪談進行資料蒐，共計9名有效樣本，年齡介於53-71歲，共5名居住台北市、1名居住新竹市、另外3位則各別居於台中、彰化及雲林縣。主要研究結果如下： (一) 中老年再婚動機有六個：(1)情感上的孤單；(2)習慣有伴；(3)對圓滿人生的期待；(4)結婚較有安全感；(5)對方需要人作伴；以及(6)生活上的需求，包含家務處理的協助、資源上經濟的共享與扶助，與未來照顧的考量。其中乃由於中老年所處生命階段的影響，子女離家及退休使得他們生活感到孤單，經濟與照顧的考量也指陳出中老年人面對退休及老化所產生威脅之故。 (二) 中老年人之所以與現任配偶開展兩人關係，乃源於三種情境：(1)第三者的促成，也就是共同友人的牽線；(2)地理空間上的接近，從鄰居關係、同是身為某醫院志工而認識；(3)參與社團，透過積極參與相關媒合的社團活動而認識彼此。可知中老年再婚關係的開展始於雙方的「共同生活圈」中，個人的社會網絡為造就婚姻關係之重要媒介。 (三) 影響中老年再婚決定的因素有五：(1)衡量彼此條件，包括兩人彼此的相似性、以及受到對方吸引；(2)前段美好婚姻的影響；(3)對方給予的寬容、承諾及支持；(4)重要他人的意見，包括配偶之成年子女、老年父母；(5)社會性因素，如他人輿論等影響。由研究發現結果得知中老年再婚者對於「彼此相似性」的重視、再婚決定受到成年子女的意見的影響，突顯出台灣社會代間關係財務移轉之文化特性。 (四) 中老年再婚者婚後生活呈現出平靜且自由的圖像，因退休與配偶共處的相處時間增多，且不與公婆同住的加持下，感受到較多的自由自在；尚未退休的中老年再婚者則期待與營造夫妻共處之時光；從受訪者之話語中可知中老年再婚者婚姻關係是較少衝突的，再婚後面臨的再婚調適議題有以下幾類：(1)與配偶飲食習慣不同；(2)空間使用習慣不同；(3)夫妻生活不同調；(4)不習慣先生個性；(5)人際層面，包括與配偶子女及父母的相處。 (五) 中老年再婚因應前述生活改變議題採取的調適策略為：(1)要求對方改變；(2)順應配偶；(3)相互配合。與年輕夫妻不同的是以較柔性、且理性的溝通方式，較少與配偶產生爭執。從財務管理及家務分工來看夫妻權力之分化，可發現中老年再婚者仍以男性為共同家用支出的主責者，女性仍為家務工作之負責人，顯示中老年再婚夫妻仍然延續成年早年兩性角色分工的權力模式。

The current study aims to explore the potential mediating role of emotional experiences and expression during conflictual situations in marital relationships. Past studies have documented a strong relationship between attachment dimensions and/or styles and relationship satisfaction. It was also shown that negative emotions and dysfunctional and destructive expression of emotions have detrimental effect on marital functioning. The current study aims to empirically tie these two areas of research by exploring the mediating role of emotional experience and expression in the relationship between attachment dimensions (i.e., attachment anxiety and avoidance) and marital adjustment of couples using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM, Kashy &amp / Kenny, 2000). It was expected that attachment dimensions of wives and husbands would predict the experience of three negative emotions, namely, anger, sadness, and guilt and destructive expression of these emotions, and in turn, these emotions would predict both partners&rsquo / marital dissatisfaction. Initially, two pilot studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods were conducted to see whether there were culture-specific ways of emotional experience and expression in Turkish cultural context. The findings confirmed the reliability and validity of the three separate emotional experiences scales assessing anger, sadness, and guilt. Based on the findings of the initial studies, the main study involving a sample of 167 married couples who were in the early years of their marriages was conducted. Couples separately completed multiple measures of adult attachment and experience and expression of emotions, and marital quality. Mediating effects of emotional experience and expression in the relationship between the attachment dimensions and marital adjustment were tested utilizing a series of path analyses using the APIM analyses. The results revealed that attachment avoidance, rather than attachment anxiety, of both wives and husbands was the strongest predictor of own and partners&rsquo / marital adjustment in the conflictual situations. In terms of emotional experience, wives&rsquo / regret and husbands&rsquo / anger were the marker mediating emotions. Regarding anger expression, wives&rsquo / and husbands&rsquo / distributive aggression styles mediated the relationship between attachment dimensions and marital adjustment. Analyses on sadness expression yielded only one significant actor mediation effect suggesting that avoidant husbands used more solitude/negative behavior, and this in turn, decreased their marital adjustment. However, guilt expression styles of wives and husbands did not mediate the relationship between attachment dimensions and marital adjustment of both partners. The current study extended the previous studies by providing evidence on the influence of the each partner&rsquo / s attachment orientation on the emotional experience and expression during marital conflict and marital adjustment of both spouses. The implications of the study for theory, practice, and future research were discussed.

This study aimed to assess the relationship between marital adjustment and the interpersonal nature of perfectionism. After controlling for depression and trait-anxiety, which were predicted to be linked with both marital adjustment and perfectionism, the relationship between marital adjustment / the dimensions of perfectionism (i.e. self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism) / a specific aspect of perfectionism, perceived criticism (i.e. criticalness toward the spouse, and criticalness of the spouse) / and the related demographic variables (i.e., age, education level, length of marriage, and whether having child) were covered in a sample of 210 (105 female and 105 male) Turkish married individuals who are in their first marriage. The participants completed inventories on dyadic adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale &ndash / DAS), perfectionism (Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale &ndash / MPS-H), perceived criticism (Perceived Criticism Measures &ndash / PCM), depression (Beck Depression Inventory &ndash / BDI), trait-anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - Trait Anxiety Form &ndash / STAI-T), and also a demographic information form. In order to analyze the data, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted for females and males separately. Altogether, the results for females revealed that higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism, higher levels of depression and trait-anxiety, and having child were associated with lower levels of marital adjustment. Besides, if the woman thinks her husband is critical of she, then her marital adjustment score decreases. Moreover, the results for males showed that higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism, and higher levels of depression were found to be associated with lower levels of marital adjustment. Furthermore, if the man thinks he is critical of his wife, then his marital adjustment decreases. The findings, and their implications with suggestions for future research and practice, were discussed in the light of relevant literature.

The study explored spousal accuracy and positive marital behavior (PMB) and negative marital behavior (NMB) areas&rsquo / three different evaluations which were frequency, emotional impact and attributed importance in distressed and nondistressed couples. Participants of the study were 81 married couples. All 162 spouses filled out Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), Communication Skills Inventory and Information Form. Additionally one spouse in each couple filled out Spouse Observation Checklist (SOC) Form A whereas the other spouse filled out SOC Form B. Spousal accuracy were assessed by partial pairwise intraclass correlation. R-to-z transformation was used to find on which PMB and NMB areas&rsquo / accuracy distressed and nondistressed couples differ. Six Repeated Measures MANOVAs were conducted to explore differences in distressed and nondistressed couples / wives and husbands / self-report and spouse-report in three evaluations of PMB and NMB. In order to find most important PMB and NMB areas&rsquo / frequencies in terms of their relationship with marital adjustment, two Roy-Bargmann Stepdown Analysis were conducted by controlling for positive affect, negative affect and communication skills. Principal component analysis was employed to the self and spouse reports of marital behavior areas&rsquo / frequencies and then two stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to identify which factors of marital behavior play a significant role in predicting marital adjustment. Results revealed that nondistressed spouses were more accurate in predicting their partners&rsquo / reports of emotional impact and attributed importance / more frequently engaging in PMB, less frequently engaging in NMB, feel more positive about and attribute more importance to PMB compared to distressed spouses. Spouse report of marital behavior explained more variance than self report of marital behavior / NMB and affectional marital behavior explained more variance than PMB in marital adjustment.

This study aimed to assess whether differences among categories of sexual self-schemas of men and women existed for weekly frequency of masturbation and sexual activity, level of sexual satisfaction, and level of marital adjustment in the context of marital relationship. In order to evaluate this, the Sexual Self-Schema Scale (Hill, 2007) was translated into Turkish, and its psychometric quality was tested on undergraduate university students. In a sample of 204 married individuals, the interrelationship between sexual self-schema categories and study variables was evaluated through univariate analyses of covariance. Results revealed that the Sexual Self-Schema Scale consisted of three factors in the sample of university students: Loving/Compassionate, Sensual/Stimulating, and Direct/Outspoken. However, the pattern of factors differed for married individuals / factors were labeled as Loving/Warm, Direct/Outspoken, and Reserved/Conservative in this sample. For married individuals, differences among categories of sexual self-schemas were reported for frequency of sexual activity, sexual satisfaction and marital adjustment. Specifically, individuals having positive sexual self-schemas in the present study reported higher frequency of sexual activity, higher levels of sexual satisfaction and marital adjustment in their relationships compared to aschematic and negative schematic individuals. However, weekly frequency of masturbation did not result in any difference among categories. Moreover, gender differences were demonstrated. Women were shown to endorse lower levels of sexual satisfaction and to engage in less frequent masturbation than men. After findings were evaluated, limitations were discussed with an emphasis on recommendations for future research, and implications for clinical psychology were mentioned.

This study was designed to examine the relationships of multiple types of domestic victimization (i.e., physical, psychological, sexual, and economic violence) to women&rsquo / s marital adjustment and psychological well-being, together with their socio-demographic characteristics and attachment, marital coping, and social support aspects. Altogether 524 married women provided data on domestic violence (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale), economic violence (Economic Violence Index), attachment (couples version of Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised), marital coping (Marital Coping Inventory), social support (Social Support Index), dyadic adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale), psychological well-being (Brief Symptom Inventory), as well as demographic information. Results appeared to indicate a general tendency that women who have arranged marriages, more children, low education, low educated husbands, no or low income, and/or women who have more income compared to their husbands report higher levels of multiple types of domestic violence. Furthermore, the findings indicated that multiple types of domestic violence account for significant variances in marital adjustment and psychological well-being of married women, even after controlling for their attachment dimensions, marital coping strategies, and social support from different support groups. The findings were discussed in accordance with the relevant literature, and their implications for clinical practices and future studies were suggested.

This project examined dispositional optimism and its influence on the three subscales of marital adjustment (consensus, satisfaction, and cohesion) by gender. Data for this study came from Wave 2 and 3 of the National Survey of Families and Households. The Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to examine both actor and partner effects of dispositional optimism on the marital adjustment subscales using the program AMOS. Results indicate that wives’ optimism seem to influence their own later marital satisfaction as well as their husbands’ later marital satisfaction. However, husbands’ optimism appeared to influence neither their own nor their wives’ later satisfaction. These results imply that wives’ optimism matters for marital satisfaction, whereas husbands’ does not.

The main purpose of the study was to investigate whether illness-related factors predict marital adjustment in parents of children with cancer. The sample consisted of parents of hospitalized children, parents of children receiving outpatient treatment, and parents who brought their children for their routine controls ith a total of 105 mothers and fathers. The data were gathered by administering the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Demographic, Illness- and Caregiver- Related Information form. Findings suggested that number of previous hospitalizations and support from spouse predict marital adjustment in parents of children with cancer. However, when the subscales were analyzed seperately, different predictors emerged. Number of previous hospitalizations predicted Dyadic Consensus, relapse and support from spouse predicted Dyadic Satisfaction, and currently receiving treatment and support from spouse predicted Dyadic Cohesion. No predictors for affectional Expression could be found. When only the parents of children currently receiving treatment are selected for analysis, the predictors do not change for Dyadic Satisfaction. However for Dyadic Cohesion, both parents as caregivers emerges as a predictor along with support from spouse. Single variables correlate significantly with the DAS Score, Dyadic Consensus and Affectional Expression. They are support from spouse for the DAS Score and Dyadic Consensus, and length of marriage for Affectional Expression.

The aim of this present study was to investigate the predictive power of value similarity of wives and husbands and conflict resolution of spouses on marital adjustment of wives, husbands, and couples. Data is collected by means of questionnaires (&ldquo / Schwartz&rsquo / s Value Survey&rdquo / , &ldquo / Dyadic Adjustment Scale&rdquo / , and &ldquo / Conflict Resolution Styles Scale&rdquo / ), from a sample of one hundred and forty (140 women, 140 men) Turkish married couples. The results of the study indicated that after eliminating the effects of demographic variables, tradition, hedonism, stimulation value type similarities of spouses, and power value type dissimilarities of spouses have positively predicted marital adjustment of wives and couples. However, value similarities of spouses did not have significant effect on marital adjustment of husbands. Although, conflict resolution styles of husbands had a significant effect on marital adjustment of wives, conflict resolution styles of wives did not have significant contribution in predicting marital adjustment of husbands after eliminating the effects of demographic variables and value similarity of spouses. The usage of negative conflict resolution styles by husbands had negative effects on marital adjustment of wives. When the marital adjustment of couples was considered, it was found that conflict resolution styles of wives and husbands have significant contribution in predicting marital adjustment of couples. The results further indicated that negative conflict resolution styles of wives and husbands negatively predicted marital adjustment of couples. Furthermore, it was found that spouses high in positive conflict resolution style and low in negative conflict resolution style have higher scores on marital adjustment than spouses low in positive conflict resolution style and high in negative conflict resolution style. The findings of the present study were discussed in the light of the related literature. Additionally, limitations of the study and suggestions for future researches were investigated.

This study compared the effects of three treatment approaches to training married couples in communication skills on the dependent variables of marital communication, marital adjustment, and the personality characteristics of extraversion/introversion and stability/instability. The initial focus of the study was to determine whether any of the treatment programs--a highly structured (T3), a partially structured (T1 ) or a non-structured (T 2) program -- were superior to any other or to the control group in affecting change in the participants level of communication or in their marital or personal adjustment. The structured programs were derived from the human relations training programs of Carkhuff as well as Rappaport and Harrell's Behavior Exchange Model of conjoint marriage counseling, and adapted for use in a short-term group training procedure. The unstructured training utilized the client-centered approach to couple counseling as developed by Rogers. The number of activities and amount of time spent on each exercise was more rigidly set in the highly structured training than in the partially structured approach. The twenty-four training programs were conducted by two doctoral students in counseling over a seven-week period. A pretest/ post-test, control group experimental design was employed in the research; the data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance statistic, with pre-test scores as the covariate. It was concluded that, although the present study did not produce evidence for the efficacy of one treatment modality over another, some support for the efficacy of the newly designed treatment T2 was provided with suggestions for further research. Recommendations include the matching of couples on age, level of education, and length of marriage when treatments are being compared. Other suggestions include the consideration, in short-term marriage counseling, of pre-therapy selection variables such as level of motivation for change, preparation for the group experience, level of maladjustment, and length of marriage.