Morse_Abigail_FinalLitReview

Running head: MARITAL WELL-BEING IN RELATIONSHIP 1
Marital Well-Being Over the Course of A Relationship
Abigail Morse
University of San Francisco
COMS203: Communication and Everyday Life

MARITAL WELL-BEING IN RELATIONSHIP 2
Marital Well-Being Over the Course of A Relationship
Romantic relationships are always experiencing changes. Whether it is being
challenged though specific problems within the relationship or external factors like work or kids,
or improving the relationship through bettering the self or the relationship as a whole, partners
will always need to work together to create a happy life and environment. The first aspect that
seems to be affected in a relationship is communication between spouses. Once communication
is no longer being used in an effective way (arguing, yelling, ignoring, etc.), marital satisfaction
has a tendency to decrease.
In particular, communication and marital intimacy/satisfaction seems to decline the most
when a new baby comes into the picture. Babies can either be a couple’s happiest time in the
relationship or the most challenging, depending on the communication styles between the
parents. If there is poor communication, not only is the relationship between the parents
negatively effected, but also may effect the child’s relationship with the parents. This topic is
important in further investigating into what sustains marital satisfaction and intimacy. By
identifying the root cause of what causes a lack of communication in a relationship, researchers
may be able to find ways to prevent such a drastic decline in overall marital satisfaction, and
hopefully preventing divorce as the end result.
This literature review will investigate the relationship between marital changes over time
and whether this change is natural, or a reaction to having a child. In particular, this paper
describes research on how marriage with newlyweds changes over time, how marital satisfaction
changes when becoming a parent, and the mental health effects on parents pre and postpartum
individually, and in the relationship. Limitations and future discussions will then be discussed in
hopes of leading researchers to further study this topic.

Literature Review
Marital Changes of Newlyweds
In order to investigate whether or not marital satisfaction is affected more severely by
adding a child to the family, marital satisfaction and overall happiness must be understood.
Ruvolo (1998) examined the overall happiness in a marital relationship over time in a
longitudinal study by examining the individual’s marital happiness. Marital happiness was then
looked at in relationship to their overall well-being over time, and ones partner’s marital
happiness in relationship to their overall well-being, and how general happiness from one partner
can effect the other partner. Research demonstrated that, within the first two years of marriage, if
participants’ marital happiness is high, their overall well-being stays high later in life. It was
also found that the higher the marital satisfaction earlier in the relationship, the higher the marital
satisfaction later on in the relationship (Ruvolo, 1998).
Like Ruvolo, McHale & Huston (1985) conducted a longitudinal study on newlyweds,
but the current researchers investigated the effects on a marriage of having a child within the first
year of marriage versus waiting. The results show that parenthood has an affect on the
relationship of a new couple’s companionship and marital role patterns, but there was no
evidence showing that this affects partner’s evaluations of one another. The researchers also
found that both groups of parents and non-parents showed a decline in satisfaction and in love
overtime. Personal, leisure, and social time declined among parents, whereas non-parents did not
change (McHale & Huston, 1985).
Ruvolo (1998) indicates through his research that personal well-being effects satisfaction
within a relationship. If each spouse is not content with his or her life as an individual, the
overall relationship satisfaction may be compromised. It seems that, in order to have a secure and

happy relationship, an individual must work on being satisfied with the self before entering into a
life long relationship (Ruvolo, 1998). Adding a child to the family seems to compromise parents’
ability to have free time to focus on the self and the relationship. Having a child may not directly
cause marital satisfaction, but there seems to be a correlation between quality time spent between
spouses and the happiness of the relationship (McHale & Huston, 1985). It also may be
important to spend quality time for the self to maintain a happy marriage (Ruvolo, 1998).
Even though having a child seems to not directly correlate to a decline in marital
satisfaction, having a secure relationship before a big life change can affect marital happiness.
Any major life change can affect the amount of time initially spent on building and strengthening
a relationship. If new to marriage and children, this may be especially important because they
may have never had a big life change that could affect a relationship before. Despite the lack of
evidence within the current research, the time and effort spent on raising a child is what seems to
effect marital satisfaction. Taking care of a child clearly compromises time that could be spent
on maintaining a secure relationship. Couples should consider discussing together how necessary
it is to have personal time and whether they feel a secure happiness with themselves and each
other before making the life changing experience of having a child.
Marital Satisfaction When Parenting
If the time comes where couples feel ready to have a child, there can be an inevitable
shift of roles within the relationship. The current research conducted a longitudinal study of first
time parents and how a lack of communication in parental role of sharing child-care duties and
housekeeping duties postpartum effected marital satisfaction (Hackel & Ruble, 1992). The
results showed a decline in marital satisfaction when transitioning into parenthood. Couples
reported less satisfaction, less sexual intimacy, and greater conflict after the baby was born.

Women with more traditional values of raising a child showed higher marital satisfaction when
doing the majority of the work for the child. Overall, there is a steady drop in marital satisfaction
in both pregnant and non-pregnant couples (Hackel & Ruble, 1992).
More current research conducted a longitudinal study looking at the change of marital
intimacy over the first 3 years of parenthood in both experienced parents and first time parents
(O'Brien & Peyton, 2002). When wives felt their husband’s values and beliefs were similar to
their own on parenting style, wives’ perceptions on positive marital intimacy tended to increase,
yet there was no such feeling for husbands. There was a consistent decline of marital intimacy
over time for both spouses, where husbands’ marital intimacy declined more rapidly and steeply.
Both partners could also see their spouse’s decline in their feelings of marital intimacy. The
overall trend seems to show that shared parenting styles increase marital intimacy and
satisfaction, where, if they have different views, specifically when the husband has more
traditional views, marital intimacy and satisfaction decreases more rapidly over time (O'Brien &
Peyton, 2002).
Another research design conducted a longitudinal study examining perceived parental
agreement during the transition to parenthood (Don, Biehle, & Mickelson, 2013). The
researchers looked for how perceived parental agreement affects their own as well as their
spouse’s depression, positive affect, and relationship satisfaction. The study aimed to find that
feeling like a part of a team is important in marital satisfaction and parental agreement, which
could possibly make the transition to parenthood an easier, less stressful process. Results showed
that both spouses reported moderate to high levels of parental agreement postpartum, regardless
of the stressful time when having a new baby. One’s own perceived parental agreement showed

lower levels of depression, and higher marital satisfaction for both mothers and fathers across
time (Don, Biehle, & Mickelson, 2013).
The overall trend in the three related research articles seems to show that agreement in
parenting style creates higher relationship satisfaction specifically for mothers. This may suggest
that parental role may be a more important factor to mothers than fathers when rating marital
satisfaction. Women seemed to have increased marital satisfaction when they were compliant
with traditional parental roles, which may or may not be due to accepting the roles society has
given. In this case, communication of traditional spousal roles is not necessary. Future research
should investigate agreements in parental roles because it may be due to successful
communication between spouses. The decline in marital satisfaction when parenting may be
because the expectations of the division of labor discussed both spouses were not exhibiting
prepartum. To prevent any confusion with the distribution of responsibilities initially agreed
upon, continuous communication should be utilized to ensure that each parent knows exactly
what their role within the household is. When both parents consistently “check-in” with each
other, expectations within the division of labor and responsibilities will remain constant.
Although conflicting parental roles between spouses does not seem to help the satisfaction
within a relationship, it may not have a direct relationship to creating a decline in marital
satisfaction. As stated before, there does not seem to be a direct relationship between men’s
marital satisfaction and agreement in parental roles (O'Brien & Peyton, 2002). Thus, men may
have higher marital satisfaction due to other factors. Whatever that factor may be, it is suggested
that a regular “check-in” system should be implemented within a marital relationship to discuss
what would be helpful in maintaining a secure and happy relationship.

Mental Health Effects of Parents Pre and Postpartum
The mental health of spouses can also have a significant affect on a relationship. The
current researchers examined trajectories of relationship satisfaction of first time parents’ gender
role, personality, and depression overtime, in comparison to their initial rate of satisfaction.
Specifically, they asked participants to report prepartum and postpartum feelings of depression.
(Bower, Schoppe-Sullivan, Mangelsdorf, & Brown, 2013). They found higher relationship
satisfaction in partners with less negative emotionality (i.e. depression, anxiety, etc.). First time
fathers had higher satisfaction than non-first-time (experienced) fathers. Mothers with depressive
symptoms showed a more pronounced decrease in relationship satisfaction specifically during
the transition period. Participants that had higher relationship satisfaction in their third trimester
were lower in negative emotionality (Bower et al., 2013).
There seems to be a correlation between negative emotionality, such as depression, and
the satisfaction in a relationship, specifically during a transitional period. Other researchers also
recognize this trend and further examined how depressive symptoms and marital dissatisfaction
are associated with pregnancy in a longitudinal study (Salmela-Aro et al., 2006). They
specifically look at whether marital satisfaction and depressive disorders are a characteristic
within the relationship, or if a depressive disorder in an individual spouse is the cause of
decreased marital satisfaction. Results indicated that depressive symptoms and marital
satisfaction during pregnancy were indicative of the spousal relationship, whereas depressive
symptoms and marital satisfaction after pregnancy were both characteristics of the spousal
relationship and the individual spouses. Those who reported higher levels of depressive
symptoms during pregnancy decreased after pregnancy and increased their marital satisfaction.

Depressive symptoms resulted in marital dissatisfaction, suggesting that the symptoms of one
partner can affect the relationship as a whole (Salmela-Aro et al., 2006).
The state of an individual’s mental health seems to affect the marital satisfaction within a
relationship, and depressive symptoms may be triggered by major transitional periods. Similar to
the section discussing marital changes in newlyweds, transitional periods are hard for any person
to deal with, and the people going through changes should realize that many aspects of their lives
could be challenged, especially their mental health. There is a pattern within the current research
articles showing that pregnancy can trigger depressive symptoms (Bower et al., 2013 & Salmela-
Aro et al., 2006). This may be because women are going through major hormonal changes
throughout their entire term of carrying the fetus. Once the pregnancy is over and the baby is
born, these depressive symptoms within the mother may effect marital satisfaction within the
relationship, causing an unhappy relationship within the couple. To prevent this, it may be
helpful to seek guidance (psychologist, counselor, etc.) to discuss any issues personally or within
the relationship. In general, transitional periods are difficult, and it is important for any
individual to keep their mental health in check to prevent further complicating the dynamic
within a marital relationship.
Limitations
Within each research article, there were limitations that affected the outcome of each
study. The most significant limitations include the lack of research within the constructs that
effect marital well-being, and the lack of research looking at what specific transitional factors
effect marital satisfaction. Further research must be done to eliminate these limitations and
possible constructs that could be interfering with the validity within each study.
Constructs That Effect Marital Well-Being. Ruvolo’s (1998) research on the overall

marital well-being within newlyweds would benefit in further looking at participants’ stress
levels, depression, or mental health, and how these constructs affect marital well-being. By doing
so, new conclusions could potentially be drawn about what specific factors influence marital
satisfaction. O'Brien & Peyton (2002) found a general decline in marital intimacy in both first
time parents and experienced parents, and concluded that adding a child to the mix cannot be a
causal factor to a decline in marital satisfaction, thus there is a lack of correlation. Future
research should investigate what is affecting the decline in marital well-being. This could be due
to an additional factor, or simply time in the relationship, but in general, future research should
add new factors to their research and whether these factors correlate with marital well-being.
Lack of Transitional Research. The Salmela-Aro et al. (2006) study had no control group
of couples going through a different kind of transition to compare the significant findings with.
Therefore, there is a lack of evidence showing if it is having a child that affects marital
satisfaction, or if it is transitional stages in general. Future research will need to look at other
transitional stages (moving in together, not spending as much time bonding together, etc.) in
order to see if transition is in fact the cause of marital satisfaction.
ResearchQuestion
According to the research conducted on marital satisfaction and becoming parents, there
are many unanswered questions in regards to if having children negatively effects marital
satisfaction, intimacy, and well-being. Because this correlation is so unclear, further research
should be done to investigate the root cause of what main factors effect marital satisfaction. It
still seems unclear as to what exactly is causing changes in marital satisfaction, but transitional
periods seem to be a main theme leading to marital relationships changing. Based on the gaps in

what specific transitional life changes are made within a marital relationship, future research
should include:
RQ: What specific transitional changes affect a marital relationship, and how could negative
effects on marital satisfaction be prevented during these transitions?
Conclusion
The current literature review specifically investigated the relationship between marital
change overtime and whether this change was natural, or a reaction to having a child. In
particular, this paper described research on how marriage with newlyweds changes over time,
how marital satisfaction changed when becoming a parent, and the mental health effects on
parents pre and postpartum individually, and in the relationship. The current literature review
demonstrates that spousal relationships are always experiencing changes. The first aspect that
seemed to be affected in a relationship is communication between spouses. Once communication
is no longer being used in an effective way (arguing, yelling, ignoring, etc.), marital satisfaction
has a tendency to decrease.
In particular, communication and marital intimacy/satisfaction seems to decline the most
when a new baby comes into the picture. The overall research has shown that marital changes are
not necessarily due to a new baby, but rather going through general transitional changes. Poor
communication during any major transitional period not only affects the relationship between the
parents negatively, but also may affect the child’s relationship with the parents in the future. The
limitations provided might be important to future researchers by identifying the root cause of
what generates a lack of communication in a relationship, and how transitions within a
relationship can be done without negatively affecting marital satisfaction.

References
Bower, D., Jia, R., Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., & Brown, G. L. (2013).
Trajectories of couple relationship satisfaction in families with infants: The roles of
parent gender, personality, and depression in first-time and experienced parents. Journal
Of Social & Personal Relationships, 30(4), 389-409. doi:10.1177/0265407512457656

Don, B. P., Biehle, S. N., & Mickelson, K. D. (2013). Feeling like part of a team: Perceived
parenting agreement among first-time parents. Journal Of Social & Personal
Relationships, 30(8), 1121-1137. doi:10.1177/0265407513483105
Hackel, L. S., & Ruble, D. N. (1992). Changes in the marital relationship after the first baby is
born: Predicting the impact of expectancy disconfirmation. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 62(6), 944.
McHale, S. M., & Huston, T. L. (1985). The effect of the transition to parenthood on the
marriage relationship A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Family Issues, 6(4), 409-433.
O'Brien, M., & Peyton, V. (2002). Parenting attitudes and marital intimacy: A longitudinal
analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 16(2), 118.
Papp, L. M., Kouros, C. D., & Cummings, E. M. (2010). Emotions in marital conflict
interactions: Empathic accuracy, assumed similarity, and the moderating context of
depressive symptoms. Journal Of Social & Personal Relationships, 27(3), 367-387.
doi:10.1177/0265407509348810
Ruvolo, A. P. (1998). Marital well-being and general happiness of newlywed couples:
Relationships across time. Journal Of Social & Personal Relationships, 15(4), 470.
Salmela-Aro, K., Aunola, K., Saisto, T., Halmesmäki, E., & Nurmi, J. (2006). Couples share
similar changes in depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction anticipating the birth of
a child. Journal Of Social & Personal Relationships, 23(5), 781-803.
doi:10.1177/0265407506068263

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