Navy couples often encounter separation periods of up to nine months as a fact of occupational choice. This study (1) investigated the effects of a six month separation on the marital functioning (MF) of navy spouses, (2) determined if gender or locus of control (LC) further specified (moderated) those effects, and (3) tested the validity of the predictions of general systems theory (GST) with regard to marital stress responses. Utilizing Hill's (1949) ABC--X and Lazarus' (1966) cognitive appraisal models of stress responses as special cases of GST, a pretest-posttest, control group design was employed to study 31 nonseparated and 20 separated junior enlisted navy couples. / Four pairs of hypotheses were tested regarding the main effects of separation, the separation x gender and separation x LC interaction effects, and the theoretical prediction of postseparation variance differences in the MF of the two groups. Significant findings were that the separated spouses had lower levels of postseparation MF, the separated spouses exhibited greater changes in MF, and separated spouses with internal LC's had higher postseparation marital adjustment levels. There were no differential effects based on gender, and LC was not related to postseparation marital communication levels. / Thus, the theoretical predictions of GST were not only supported, but the examination of variance also provided cautionary evidence regarding the interpretation of main effects. Although main effects of separation were present between groups, nearly 60% of the separated spouses did not exhibit a decline in MF as a result of separation. Additionally, it was noted that within-group gender differences did exist, which was consistent with previous separation studies, however with the inclusion of a control group, the gender differences could not be attributed to separation. Supplementary ex post facto analyses were performed in an attempt to identify demographic and attitudinal predictors of changes in, and postseparation levels of, marital functioning. Finally, implications were identified for reviewers of previous research, persons interested in conducting similar research, family service providers, and navy policy planners. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-09, Section: A, page: 2825. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75644 |
| Contributors | JACOBS, EUGENE WALTER., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 196 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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