A new look at marital quality: Can spouses feel positive and negative about their marriage?

Marital quality is examined as a 2-dimensional construct comprising positive and negative evaluations. Assessments of marital quality, behavior, attributions, and general affect were completed by 123 couples. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the existence of positive and negative marital quality dimensions. These dimensions also explained unique variance in reported behavior and attributions beyond that explained by a conventional marital quality measure and by positive and negative affect. Ambivalent (high-positive and high-negative) and indifferent (low-positive and low-negative) wives differed in reports of behaviors and attributions but did not differ in scores on the conventional marital quality test, The implications of a 2-dimensional analysis of marital quality for theory and research are outlined.