STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENTAL-CHANGE IN MARITAL QUALITY - A 3-WAVE PANEL ANALYSIS

The dynamics of marital quality is largely unknown. The purpose of this exploratory study is to establish benchmarks which can be used as a basis for understanding the nature and magnitude of fluctuations in marital quality. Drawing on a national sample of married persons interviewed three times over an 8-year period, we found that marital quality is a stable phenomenon that rivals personality characteristics in its consistency. Marital happiness and interaction were both found to decline over time while divorce proneness, problems, and disagreements did not exhibit significant developmental change. We found no sex or duration differences in stability or developmental change. Marital quality appears to be a dyadic property and not something that individuals carry over from one marriage to the next. The implications for these findings are discussed.