The longitudinal association between marital and psychological functioning in socioeconomically disadvantaged relationships

Marital functioning is associated with individuals’ psychological functioning. However, it is unclear if the association between marital and individual functioning extends to socioeconomically disadvantaged newlyweds (those with low educational attainment/income), and if changes in psychological distress differ between husbands and wives. Using three waves of data from 530 couples in the Supporting Healthy Marriage study, we investigated if improvements and deterioration in marital satisfaction were differentially associated with patterns of individuals’ psychological distress. We also examined if spouses’ divergent marital change patterns were associated with distress trajectories. For wives, improvements in marital satisfaction were more strongly associated with decreases in psychological distress compared to declines in satisfaction. Additionally, wives’ psychological distress was more adversely impacted than was husbands’ when they reported worse marital functioning. We provide empirical and practical implications for helping reduce disparities in psychological functioning observed in low-income populations.

Parents’ Valuation of Approving a Child’s Spouse in a Context of Marital Change

Previous research on arranged marriage focuses on young people getting married. In this article, the author turns the focus toward parents, examining whether Nepali parents value approving their child’s future spouse. A fifth of parents did not value approving their child’s spouse. They then investigated which parents value such approval less than others and how these connections differ by gender. Parents who had low-quality relationships with their children and believed it is better, in general, for children to choose their own spouses were less likely to value approval. Parents of children with salaried work experience, especially mothers of daughters, were also less likely to value approval. By contrast, children’s education, parents’ marital experience, and valuation of parental respect were not important. Believing arranged marriage and respect for parents will decrease in the future and that parents relinquish spouse approval in exchange for old age support were also unimportant.