Traumatic events and marital well-being

Using a national probability sample, we investigate the impact of traumatic events on marital well-being. We argue that traumatic life events such as the death of a child a life-threatening illness, and physical attack have a negative impact on marital well-being and that this impact is moderated by spousal support. Partially confirming our first hypothesis, we found that physical attack is a significant predictor of marital well-being. Respondents who had been physically attacked in the past reported lower levels of marital satisfaction. As predicted spousal support critically affected the relationship between traumatic events and marital well-being.