The role of enduring vulnerabilities, stressful life events and adaptive processes in newlyweds marital quality and adjustment
Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In line with the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation (VSA) model of marriage, this study \nexamined the role of neuroticism, stressful life events, mutual problem solving and negative \nrelationship attributions on marital quality and adjustment among a sample of newlywed couples \nin Addis Ababa. A quantitative cross-sectional study design involving a sample of 192 newlywed \ncouples was employed. Data were analysed using correlation and multiple regression analysis \nmethods. The PROCESS module in SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling was also used to test \nindirect effects and actor and partner effects, respectively. The results showed that for both wives’ \nand husbands’, neuroticism significantly predicted their own marital satisfaction but only \nhusbands’ neuroticism significantly predicted their partners’ marital satisfaction. Stressful life \nevents did not have a significant actor and partner effect for both wives’ and husbands’. Negative \nrelationship attribution was found to be a significant predictor of actors as well as partners' marital \nsatisfaction for both wives’ and husbands’ while only husbands’ mutual problem solving, not that \nof wives’, had a significant effect on their own marital satisfaction. Tests of indirect effects also \nshowed that, for both wives’ and husbands’, neuroticism had a significant negative intrapersonal \nand interpersonal indirect effect on marital satisfaction through the mediation of both mutual \nproblem solving and negative relationship attribution. Wives’ and husbands’ stressful life events \nhad a significant negative intrapersonal and interpersonal indirect effect on marital satisfaction \nthrough the mediation of negative relationship attribution. Mutual problem solving only mediated \na significant indirect effect of husbands’ stress on marital satisfaction at the intrapersonal level and \nwives’ stress on marital satisfaction at the interpersonal level. This research contributed to \nenhancing scientific knowledge that guides the design and implementation of policies, programs, \nand services to promote newlyweds’ marital quality and adjustment in the Ethiopian context. The \nresearch also made a theoretical contribution to the VSA model by indicating that adaptive \nprocesses play a varying mediational role for wives’ and husbands’ in the indirect effect of stress on marital satisfaction and by confirming that adaptive processes such as mutual problem solving \nand negative relationship attribution play a more prominent role in affecting marital quality and \nsatisfaction than the other two components of the model, that is neuroticism and stressful life \nevents.
Author: Andenet Hailie Godana
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2997970891