In some previous blog entries I have touched on the topic of marital satisfaction and retirement. During this past summer my wife and I have spent a lot of time together. Along with my anticipation of formal retirement, which happened on August 31st, she has been coping with a gradually healing broken ankle and a hernia that refuses to stay in the right place. On the other hand, I have been struggling with sleep apnea. Her bone is about healed and I have recently purchased a tool that helps me breath at night. In both cases, we have experienced increased stress and occasionally we have harsh words with each other. Please don’t get the wrong idea, Sometimes we get irritated with each other. We are after all human beings or Homo sapiens depending on how technical you want to get. Still, all and all, we have a good relationship and love each other dearly.
The material mentioned below includes a marital satisfaction questionnaire. Read what the authors have said and then take a look at the questions. It may help you and your partner to sort things out or to recognize just how well your partnership is getting along.
“Although poor health for one or both partners is potentially an important stressor in the lives of older persons
the spouses appear to distinguish satisfaction with their partner's health from their evaluations of the marital relationship per se.”
“The current findings substantiate the importance of marital satisfaction in the lives of older persons. Marital Satisfaction Scale items were highly correlated with overall life satisfaction, and they predicted the occurrence of the positive or negative behaviors in the home and during marital problem solving discussions. We hope that the availability of this assessment instrument will help to stimulate greater attention to evaluating older persons' marital satisfaction through research and interventions. “
[1] Psychological Assessment © 1992 by the American Psychological Association
December 1992 Vol. 4, No. 4, 473-482. The Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire For Older Persons. Aulthors: S. N. Haynes, F. J. Floyd, Carolyn Lemsky, Elizabeth Rogers, David Winemiller, Nancy Heilman, Mary Werle, Tria Murphy, & Lydia, Cardone (1992) Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire
Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire for Older Persons
Please answer the following questions as carefully as possible. You may choose not to answer specific questions, but you are encouraged to answer as many as possible. Please indicate your current level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction for each of the items listed below.
1 = very dissatisfied, 2= dissatisfied 3= somewhat dissatisfied
4 = somewhat satisfied 5= satisfied 6 = Very dissatisfied
1. The amount of time my spouse and I spend in shared recreational activities:
1 2 3 4 5 6
2. The degree to which my spouse and I share common interests:
1 2 3 4 5 6
3. The day-to-day support and encouragement provided by my spouse:
1 2 3 4 5 6
4. My spouse's physical health:
1 2 3 4 5 6
5. The degree to which my spouse motivates me:
1 2 3 4 5 6
6. My spouse's overall personality:
1 2 3 4 5 6
7. The amount of consideration shown by my spouse:
1 2 3 4 5 6
8. The manner in which affection is expressed between my spouse and me:
1 2 3 4 5 6
9. How my spouse reacts when I share feelings:
1 2 3 4 5 6
10. The way disagreements are settled:
1 2 3 4 5 6
11. The number of disagreements between my spouse and me:
1 2 3 4 5 6
12. . My spouse's philosophy of life:
1 2 3 4 5 6
13. My spouse's values:
1 2 3 4 5 6
14. My spouse's emotional health:
1 2 3 4 5 6
15. The frequency of sexual or other physically intimate relations with my spouse:
1 2 3 4 5 6
16. The quality of sexual or other physically intimate relations with my spouse:
1 2 3 4 5 6
17. The frequency with which my spouse and I have pleasant conversations:
1 2 3 4 5 6
[i] Psychological Assessment © 1992 by the American Psychological Association
December 1992 Vol. 4, No. 4, 473-482. The Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire For Older Persons. Aulthors: S. N. Haynes, F. J. Floyd, Carolyn Lemsky, Elizabeth Rogers, David Winemiller, Nancy Heilman, Mary Werle, Tria Murphy, & Lydia, Cardone (1992) Marital Satistisfaction Questionaire
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