Perceptions of “Impingement” and Marital Satisfaction Among Wives of Retired Husbands

Bibliographic Data

ID20392805
AuthorsSuzanne Bushfíeld (Arizona State University), Suzanne Y Bushfield, Tanya R Fitzpatrick (Arizona State University), Barbara H Vinick
Year2008
Volume20
Issue3-4
Pages199-213
Publication date2008-08-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Women & Aging (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-2841 • E-ISSN: 1540-7322
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08952840801984469
PMID18983107
OpenAlexW2010346451
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited21

Initial pilot interviews with women whose husbands were in the first year of retirement revealed that problems of "impingement"--perceptions of husbands as intruders into their worlds-as-lived--were cited, in response to open-ended items, as the most difficult aspect of husbands' retirement. An impingement index, consisting of items constructed from those responses, was administered to the original panel of 83 women whose husbands were now in the fourth year of retirement, and to a new panel of 61 women whose husbands had been retired for one year. Paired T-tests revealed one significant difference in perceptions of impingement between the two groups of wives, and not in the expected direction. Indeed, wives in year 4 were more often bothered by some impingement conditions than wives in year 1, and these were significantly related to self-assessments of marital satisfaction. Results have implications for "adjustment" to life transitions, including situations that may inhibit initiation of adaptive responses, degree of investment in social roles, and issues of expectation

Marital status · Perception · Sociology · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Psychology · Retirement, Disability, and Employment · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges