Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Sociology

A long-standing body of research shows that the married enjoy better health and health behavior outcomes than the unmarried across many health dimensions, except for BMI. Despite this perplexing aberration, research has yet to establish how eating behavior, a major contributor to BMI, is associated with relationship status. Furthermore, recent research contesting the notion of relationship status as the most salient predictor of health suggests that relationship quality is an additionally formidable health predictor; yet how relationship quality matters for eating behavior has yet to be examined. Data from the NLSY79 reveals that compared to the single, the married engage in significantly less risky eating behavior and there is no significant difference between the cohabiting and single on eating behavior, but only when SES is not accounted for. Additionally, among the married and cohabiting, relationship happiness is a more salient predictor of risky eating behavior than relationship strain, and these effects are similar for the married and cohabiting. Furthermore, SES confounds relationship status findings, but not quality findings. Findings bolster evidence on the declining premium of relationship status and suggest that relationship quality is a formidable predictor of health.

Committee: Corinne Reczek (Advisor); Kristi Williams (Committee Member); Cynthia Colen (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Sociology/Applied Demography

Roughly 30 percent of those 63 and older who are married are in a remarriage (Lin, Brown, and Hammersmith 2017). Past research has established that first marriages and remarriages operate differently and have different health and relationship quality outcomes. These health and relationship quality outcomes can be affected by functional limitations such as Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). However, the effects of ADLs/IADLs on relationship quality between remarried and continuously married aging individuals is unknown. Using two waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study's Psychosocial survey, I examined potential relationship quality differences between continuously married and remarried individuals with and without ADLs/IADLs. Contrary to my expectation that continuously married individuals with an ADL/IADL would have higher positive relationship quality and lower negative relationship quality than remarried individuals with an ADL/IADL, the bivariate results showed continuously married and remarrieds had similar positive and negative relationship quality. OLS regression results also did not support the proposed hypotheses. Instead, first marriages and remarriages for older adults with and without ADL/IADL onset do not differ in terms of positive and negative relationship quality. These findings highlight that marriage operates similarly for older adults regardless of ADL/IADL onset for those who are either continuously married or remarried.

Committee: Susan L. Brown Dr. (Advisor); I-Fen Lin Dr. (Committee Member); Jenjira J. Yahirun Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Psychology

The transition to parenthood is a challenging period for sustaining and building strong interparental relationships (i.e., marital relationships and coparenting relationships), which are critical to family functioning and children's positive development. However, interparental relationships appear to have a greater impact on fathering than mothering, as suggested by the father vulnerability hypothesis. In the current study, I explored stability and change in multiple aspects of the interparental relationship using data from 182 dual-earner different-gender couples followed across their transition to parenthood and latent growth curve modeling. I also examined how different aspects of the interparental relationship shaped new parents' parenting quantity as well as parenting quality and tested whether fathers were more vulnerable in a cross-lagged panel design. Couples reported on aspects of their marital relationships and coparenting relationships across the transition to parenthood. At three months and nine months postpartum, parents' positive engagement with children was obtained from self-reports, and parenting quality was evaluated through observations. Overall, the results showed that mothers' and fathers' interparental relationships remained stable across the transition to parenthood. Both mothers and fathers showed small decreases in marital confidence, but only fathers showed increases in marital constraint and decreases in coparenting endorsement. Better marital functioning was associated with higher levels of parenting quality. Lower coparenting conflict and higher coparenting endorsement were associated with higher parenting quality. Coparenting support predicted higher levels of parents' positive engagement with children. The effect of marital relationships and coparenting relationships on parenting did not differ for mothers and fathers, which did not support the father vulnerability hypothesis. Findings are discussed in terms of strength, limitations, a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan (Advisor); Stephen Petrill (Committee Member); Minjung Kim (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Sociology

Married older adults tend to fare better in terms of health and mortality than those who are not married, and this association is especially pronounced for those with high marital quality. At the same time, childhood health is related to later life health outcomes. The aim of this study is to determine how much of the relationship between marriage, marital quality, and later life health can be explained by the long arm of childhood health. From the cumulative disadvantage theory, childhood health is linked to marriage and marital quality as well as later life health. Using the 2008-2010 Health and Retirement Study (N=13,620), I examine whether marital status and quality are related to self-rated health and cardiovascular disease net of childhood health. Marital quality is associated with later life health, net of childhood health and other factors. High marital quality is associated with a decrease in risk of poor self-rated health and low-quality marriage is related to an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions compared to the unmarried. Poor childhood health is associated with an increased health risk, but the relationship between marriage and health remains robust after controlling for childhood factors, indicating it is not spurious. Finally, there is no significant difference in how marital status and quality function for men and women.

Committee: Susan Brown (Advisor); Kelly Balistreri (Committee Member); I-Fen Lin (Committee Member) Subjects: Aging; Demography; Sociology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Sociology

Although accumulated research findings point to the effect of marital termination on elders' depression, seldom research has tested the moderator effects of marital quality and personal self-esteem on the relationship between marital dissolution and depression among elders. The current study uses three waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), a nationally representative sample of 2570 people ages 50 and above, with 368 persons who were widowed at time 2 and 73 persons who got divorced at time 2. Using fixed-effects model, the study shows that leaving a poor marriage does less harm than leaving a satisfactory marriage on individuals' well-being. However, specific measures of things that are going on in the marriage (e.g. over- or under-benefiting) do not have an effect on the relationship between marital termination and depression. Moreover, this study demonstrated that self-esteem is related to decreased depression in later life. However, the effect of marital termination on depression does not differ by self-esteem. Further, the results showed that in terms of long-term consequences, marital status may not affect older adults' psychological well-being very much as long as they are healthy. This research will enhance knowledge about the phenomenon of widowhood and divorce in later life.

Committee: Alfred DeMaris (Committee Chair); Monica Longmore (Committee Member); Laura Sanchez (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Psychology

Advanced and recurrent breast cancer patients experience negative biobehavioral sequelae following diagnosis. Poor marital quality has also been shown to worsen biobehavioral trajectories in earlier-stage cancer patients (e.g., Yang & Schuler, 2009; Schuler et al., under review). However, the contribution of poor marital quality among advanced or recurrent cancer patients coping with a health crisis remains unclear. This study tested the longitudinal covariation between poor marital quality and psychological distress, individual differences, health behaviors, endocrine and immune functioning, and physical health in advanced and recurrent breast cancer patients (N=98). Mixed-effects modeling compared trajectories for women in distressed marriages (n=23) to those in non-distressed marriages (n=75) at diagnosis and across a 12-month follow-up. Compared with patients in a non-distressed marriage, those in a distressed marriage showed significantly greater baseline total mood disturbance (p<.001) and differential rate of mood disturbance change across follow-up (p=.018). Immune differences were also present, with the Distressed group showing significantly higher Con A at baseline relative to the Non-Distressed group (p=.052), which persisted across 12-month follow-up. Clinical relevance and recommendations are described.

Committee: Barbara Andersen PhD (Advisor); Daniel Strunk PhD (Committee Member); Robert Cudeck PhD (Committee Member); Steven Beck PhD (Committee Member); Helen Everts PhD (Other) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Clinical Psychology; Families and Family Life; Psychobiology; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Social Research

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Sociology

Through the Healthy Marriage Initiative, the U.S. government promotes marital quality among low-income persons despite a lack of knowledge about marital quality and its predictors among the target population. Little is known about how couples' romantic relationship trajectories may impact marital quality, even with profound variation in ways couples form unions. To investigate this lacuna, I address four research aims using data from 399 low-income married couples in the Marriage and Relationship Survey. My first two research aims offer new knowledge on low-income couples' romantic relationship trajectories and their predictors. First, I describe the sequencing of four events following the start of the dating relationship: sex, cohabitation, marriage, and childbearing. I differentiate couples into four mutually exclusive groups: (1) "traditional" couples, who neither cohabited nor had sex prior to marriage; (2) "traditional-plus-sex" couples, who did engage in premarital sex, but did not cohabit before marriage; (3) "modern" couples, who engaged in premarital sex and cohabited prior marrying; and (4) "unconventional" couples, who, besides premarital sex and cohabitation, also experienced premarital joint parenthood. I then describe couples' relationship spacing, i.e., the time separating: (1) dating and marriage; (2) dating and first sex; (3) dating and cohabitation; (4) cohabitation and marriage; and (5) marriage and the postmarital birth of the couples' first child. I find genuinely different romantic relationship trajectories, with couples engaging in sex, cohabitation, and childbearing at varying rates and at various time points in the relationship. My second research aim is to explore sociodemographic factors associated with couples' relationship trajectories. Using multinomial logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models, I find the calendar year the couple began dating, previous union history of the couple, and experiences in the family of origin t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth Cooksey Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Kristi Williams Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Claire Kamp Dush Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Personal Relationships; Social Research; Sociology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2009, Psychology

In animal studies the nanopeptides oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) have been associated with social bonding. In humans, OT plasma levels appear to covary with perceptions of relationship quality. To investigate the relationships between behavioral indicators of marital quality and OT and AVP plasma levels, 37 couples were admitted for a 24-hour visit at the research center. Couples participated in a structured social support interaction task and completed self-report questionnaires of marital quality. Plasma OT and AVP were assayed using enzyme immunoassays. Positive behaviors during the marital interaction task were positively related to OT plasma levels, while both observed and self-reported negative behaviors were negatively associated with AVP plasma levels. These results provide evidence that marital quality is positively related to both OT and AVP plasma levels in humans.

Committee: Janice Kiecolt-Glaser K (Advisor); Michael Vasey (Committee Chair); Jennifer Cheavens (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Human Development and Family Science

A study was conducted to determine whether racial differences exist in the relationship between equity and marital quality. Using the nationally representative data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) dataset, sub-samples of equivalent sizes were randomly selected and the same structural equation model was used for: the overall sample, males, females, Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics and then each race by each gender. This resulted in 12 models that tested a predictive relationship between the two latent variables of equity and relationship quality. It was found that the model generally fit the data better for females than for males. There were several racial differences, most notably that the model fit the data best for African American females. Although the strength of the relationship varied significantly, it was found that greater equity in the marital relationship was a significant predictor of higher marital quality in every model. Given these findings, it was cautiously asserted that the relationship between these two variables is causal. Further research needs to be conducted to better specify the model for males and to further examine the racial differences found in this study.

Committee: Julianne Serovich (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2002, Human Development and Family Science

Attachment theory has been used to explain various phenomena in adult relationships. It has been found to influence conflict resolution style, depressive symptoms, and marital quality. Many studies have explored the relationships between these variables. Most of these studies look at these variables in isolation. The present study represents the first attempt to empirically validate a model of the combined relationship of attachment on depressive symptoms, conflict resolution style, and marital quality using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Data from 65 married couples were used to test the fit of the model to the data. A moderate fit was found, and results from previous studies were supported. Implications for clinicians and future research are discussed.

Committee: Julianne Serovich (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Social Welfare

A vast literature on married couples who transition to parenthood generallyreveals that marital quality declines for both wives and husbands. However, research on factors that strengthen or weaken marital quality during the transition to parenthood is still in its infancy. Moreover, most of this research has been conducted with samples of predominantly White couples. This study sought to expand knowledge on the transition to parenthood in two ways. First, using perspectives from marital virtues theory and perceived partner responsiveness, this study sought to determine if perceived partner generosity would moderate the relationship between the transition to parenthood and marital quality. Second, this study sought to test this relationship with a sample consisting of a strong representation of Black couples. A descriptive, secondary analysis was used to investigate respondents from the first (Y1) and third (Y3) years of the Early Years of Marriage (EYM) Project. The original sample consisted of all eligible Black couples (n=199) and a random sample of White couples (n=174) from Wayne County, Michigan in 1986. For this study, eligible participants were couples who either transitioned to parenthood or remained childless between Y1 and Y3. Marital quality was conceptualized as consisting of positive evaluations (marital well-being) and negative evaluations (marital tension). Ordinary least squares regression analyses revealed that wives who transitioned to parenthood reported lower marital well-being and higher marital tension in Y3 than comparison wives. Husbands who transitioned to parenthood reported higher marital tension than comparison husbands. Perceived partner generosity was a strong predictor of marital well-being and marital tension for wives and husbands. However, there was no evidence that perceived partner generosity moderated the relationship between the transition to parenthood and marital well-being or marital tension. Other analyses from this study il (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gerald Mahoney PhD (Committee Chair) Subjects: Social Psychology; Social Work

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2009, Psychology/Clinical

Both academic and religious communities have long considered forgiveness a salient aspect of interpersonal relationships and individual well-being. This construct has been researched extensively in a secular context, but the religious aspects are only beginning to be addressed. In particular, the experience of a perceived desecration, or a violation of the sacred, may have unique impacts on the forgiveness process and also on both interpersonal relationships and individual well-being. These links become particularly important in a marriage, which is a union considered sacred by a majority of Americans. Forgiveness has been shown to be positively linked to marital quality, but the impact desecrations may have on these aspects of life have yet to be carefully studied. The purpose of the current study was to address this gap in the research. This study examined links between desecration of a marriage, spousal and spiritual forgiveness, and marital quality as shown through satisfaction and love. One hundred and seventy eight married couples in a Midwestern community completed a variety of measures designed to address these constructs. Main analyses revealed that desecration was associated with wives'report of lower levels of marital love. Marital quality, both satisfaction and love, was associated with spousal, but not spiritual, forgiveness for both wives and husbands. Desecration was associated with lower levels of spousal forgiveness in wives, but higher levels of spiritual forgiveness in both wives and husbands. Furthermore, analyses revealed that wives' spousal forgiveness may partially mediate the relationship between desecration and lower levels of marital love. These findings are discussed along with post-hoc analyses, implications, limitations, and future directions.

Committee: Annette Mahoney (Committee Chair); Kenneth Pargament (Committee Member); Anne Gordon (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Sociology

In this study, I use data from the 1992 through 2004 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to investigate correlates of marital quality in later life, examine the influence of marital quality and later life transitions on physical health and divorce outcomes, and assess whether there are gender and race-ethnic variations in the relationship between later life transitions, marital quality, health, and divorce. Results show that later life transitions (specifically, economic and employment situation, children in the household, and caregiving for a parent or parent-in-law) are important to marital quality; and, there are notable gender and race-ethnic variations in marital quality, as well as gender and race-ethnic variations in how later life transitions are associated with marital quality. I find that marital quality is also related to physical health; among older married adults, marital happiness, interaction, and inequity are related to both subjective and objective measures of health. Older adults who are happily married have better physical health than those in low-quality marriages, cohabitors, the divorced, the widowed, and the never-married, and results reveal important gender and race-ethnic differences in the relationship between marital status, marital quality, and health. Finally, marital quality is related to divorce for older adults, and the marital quality of both spouses is consequential for marital dissolution. Later life characteristics (including wealth and employment status, spouse's health, grandchildren in the household, providing financial support to parents, and the emptying of the nest) are also associated with divorce, and the relationship between later life transitions and divorce depends on marital quality, gender, and race. Results point to the importance of marital quality for health and divorce in later life, demonstrate that later life characteristics and events do influence older adults' marriages, and underscore the need for (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Susan Brown (Advisor) Subjects: Sociology, General

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Psychology/Clinical

The transition to parenthood is a challenging period in the lives of couples marked by a deterioration in observed positive communication processes, and an increase in observed negative communication processes that spouses use to manage conflict (Cox, Paley, Burchinal, & Payne, 1999). In a sample of 164 married couples, this study used longitudinal data from throughout the transition to parenthood to examine the causal links between self and spouse-reports of four types of marital strengths (i.e., spiritual intimacy, collaborative communication, sanctification of marriage, and marital love) and observations of spouses' communication processes during videotaped 10-minute marital conflict interactions. In fixed effects regression analyses, spouses' joint reports of husbands' and wives' spiritually intimate behaviors predicted less negative and more positive communication processes by both husbands and wives. Surprisingly, in contrast, spouses' joint reports of each spouses' collaborative communication behaviors during disagreements in daily life did not predict better communication processes during the observed conflict interactions. Additionally, greater perceptions of sanctifying one's marriage and of marital love each predicted some, but not all, assessed aspects of observed marital communication processes. Notably, because fixed effects regressions were conducted, it can be inferred that unmeasured stable, individual attributes and traits cannot account for the significant findings between the marital strength indicators and observed communication outcomes.

Committee: Annette Mahoney PhD (Advisor); Kenneth Pargament PhD (Committee Member); Alfred DeMaris PhD (Committee Member); Anne Gordon PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Psychology; Religion; Spirituality