Marital Satisfaction and Quality

Conceptualization and Measurement

Marital satisfaction is perhaps one of the most frequently studied variables in marital research. Despite the wealth of literature examining this construct, there is a continuing lack of consensus among marital researchers about how to conceptualize and measure marital satisfaction, as well as an absence of a unifying theoretical approach to studying this construct. During the past several decades, scholars have engaged in lively debates about how to conceptualize marital satisfaction. There have been two major approaches: looking at the relationship itself (examining patterns of interaction, such as the amount and type of communication and conflict) and looking at individual feelings of the spouses (subjective judgments of satisfaction or happiness). According to those scholars who focus on the interactions in the relationship, rather than on the subjective evaluations made by individuals in the relationship, marital satisfaction is an interpersonal characteristic. Proponents of this approach treat marital satisfaction as a process, the outcome of which is determined by interaction patterns between spouses. Scholars who take this approach, which was dominant during the 1970s, [Page 1031]generally favor the terms marital adjustment or marital quality, although some do use the term marital satisfaction as well. These scholars also view marital satisfaction as a multidimensional construct. Multidimensional measures of marital satisfaction typically assess a number of specific types of interactions between spouses (e.g., time spent together/companionship, conflict, and communication). In addition to measuring reported behavioral characteristics of the dyad, some multidimensional measures also include global subjective evaluations of the relationship (such as happiness, satisfaction, or distress). These items are then typically summed. Frequently employed multidimensional measures of marital satisfaction are the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (LWMAT), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI).

During the 1980s, the interpersonal approach to the study of marital satisfaction or marital quality, and the multidimensional measures used by those who adhered to this approach, came under severe attack. Criticisms can be grouped into two general categories. First, many multidimensional measures, such as the LWMAT and the DAS, were criticized for combining scales assessing objective reports of interaction, which are dyadic measures, with subjective evaluations of the relationship, which are individual measures. This is problematic because it combines two different units of analysis. Additionally, it combines two different types of reports (objective and subjective). This presents serious threats to the validity of such scales. Second, multidimensional measures were criticized because the components that are frequently included may actually be determinants of subjective evaluations of marital satisfaction. These factors, such as communication or couple interaction, also could be considered as independent variables that might influence marital satisfaction. Critics pointed out that by including both evaluative judgments about marital quality and reports of specific behaviors and general interaction patterns, multidimensional measures also may inflate associations between marital satisfaction and self-report measures of interpersonal processes in marriage. This is particularly problematic when dealing with cross-sectional data. The criticisms of multidimensional measures raised in the 1970s led many researchers to conclude that scales assessing different dimensions of marital quality should not be summed up and to develop new measures.

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