The proposed continuation would permit us to extend our knowledge of the factors that account for the differential rates of marital instability over the life course. In addition to adding to the knowledge already accumulated on such variables as income and assets, health, social integration, and life satisfaction as factors explaining divorce and divorce proneness, new questions would be addressed. Specifically, it is proposed to focus on: marital strains created by dual care-giving pressures, marital instability changes that accompany retirement, changes in marital quality as it relates to locus of control, and adjustment to divorce as it is influenced by pre-dissolution conditions, age, and gender. Finally, it is proposed that the impact of parent divorce and marital unhappiness on well-being of adult offspring be investigated. Aspects of well-being to receive special attention are the quality of intergenerational relations, economic success, and family formation behavior. To undertake these analyses funds are requested for a fourth wave of interviews with the national sample of married persons first interviewed in 1980. It is also proposed that offspring of the respondents who have reached the age of 19 be interviewed. The information gleaned from this investigation will be of value to a variety of health care and human service specialists who deal with people whose marriages may be faltering. The exceptional nature and quality of the data set developed in connection with this study makes it a valuable asset to other life course scholars. Plans are outlined for distributing the panel data to other researchers.
| Pronin, E; Kruger, J; Savitsky, K et al. (2001) You don't know me, but I know you: the illusion of asymmetric insight. J Pers Soc Psychol 81:639-56 |
| Amato, P R; Booth, A (2001) The legacy of parents' marital discord: consequences for children's marital quality. J Pers Soc Psychol 81:627-38 |
| Booth, A; Amato, P (1991) Divorce and psychological stress. J Health Soc Behav 32:396-407 |
