Early Years of Marriage Project

Who Participated in the Study and How?

The study began with a sample of 373 married couples (199 Black American; 174 White American), all of whom had applied for marriage licenses in Wayne County, Michigan, during 1986. To be eligible for the study, both members of the couple had to be of the same race, in their first marriage, and the wife had to be younger than 35 years of age. All eligible Black American couples and a random sample of White American couples were contacted and asked to participate. Of those contacted, 66 percent agreed to participate, a reasonably good response rate.

The couples were interviewed on multiple occasions. The first interview took place a few months after marriage, a time when most couples are firmly in the glow of the honeymoon period. Married couples were re-interviewed in Years 2, 3, 4, 7, and 16 of their marriages. All respondents, married or divorced, participated in a brief survey in Year 14. In Years 2 and 4, brief telephone interviews were conducted. In Years 1, 3, 7, and 16, married couples were interviewed at their homes by a race-matched interviewer. Each individual was interviewed separately and then with his or her spouse. In Year 16, for the first time, interviews were conducted separately with respondents who had divorced over the years.

Many different methods were used in the interviews. In the couple interview, spouses were asked together to tell the story of their relationship in narrative form. A behavioral observational procedure having them resolve differences about the [Page 478]important rules for a good marriage also was used. In the individual interviews, a variety of questions were asked on topics such as marital happiness, family of origin, religion, employment experiences, housework and childcare, children, and perceptions of discrimination (Black Americans only).

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