TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose This study assessed the marital quality of older men and women in first marriages and remarriages, examining gender differences within first marriages and remarriages, and marriage order differences for men and women separately.Methodology The study employed nationally representative survey data for 1,243 married adults, aged 62–91, from Wave II of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), conducted in 2010–2011. Marital quality was assessed with six positive relationship dimensions and two negative ones.Findings Descriptive data revealed mean ratings above scale midpoints on all positive dimensions of marital quality, and mean ratings generally below the midpoints on the negative dimensions for men and women in both first marriages and remarriages. Multivariate analyses indicated an overall stronger influence of gender than marriage order on marital quality for this sample of older adults. In both first marriages and remarriages, men reported more favorable perceptions of marriage across several positive dimensions (e.g., emotional satisfaction, physical pleasure), though they also reported more spousal criticism than did women. Within gender groups, marriage order was not associated with any of the dimensions of marital quality that were assessed.Value This study demonstrates that marriage order does not have a significant influence on the marital quality of older adults today, but that long-standing gender differences in marital quality hold across marriage order. These findings are critical given the increasingly diverse marital histories of individuals entering old age in the early 21st century, and the importance of a positive, supportive marriage for older adults’ well-being.
VL  - 10
SN  - 978-1-78635-229-3, 978-1-78635-230-9/1530-3535
DO  - 10.1108/S1530-353520160000010002
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S1530-353520160000010002
AU  - Cooney Teresa M.
AU  - Proulx Christine M.
AU  - Snyder-Rivas Linley A.
PY  - 2016
Y1  - 2016/01/01
TI  - A Profile of Later Life Marriages: Comparisons by Gender and Marriage Order
T2  - Divorce, Separation, and Remarriage: The Transformation of Family
T3  - Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 1
EP  - 37
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -