How does personality matter in marriage? An examination of trait anxiety, interpersonal negativity, and marital satisfaction

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6201216
AutoresJohn P Caughlin (0000-0003-2768-4839, University of Nebraska–Lincoln), Ted L Huston (The University of Texas at Austin), Renate Houts (0000-0002-1518-2631), Renate M Houts
Año2000
Volumen78
Número2
Páginas326-336
Fecha de publicación2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
EditorialAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037//0022-3514.78.2.326
PMID10707338
OpenAlexW1986068753
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas171
Referencias citadas10

Although trait anxiety and its aliases (negative affectivity, neuroticism) have frequently been found to be associated with marital dissatisfaction, few efforts have been made to identify the processes through which trait anxiety exerts its influence. This study reports findings from a 13-year, 4-phase longitudinal study in which trait anxiety, measured when spouses were newlyweds, consistently predicted marital negativity which, in turn, was associated with partner's marital dissatisfaction. Some support was also found for effects of trait anxiety on partner's marital satisfaction, independent of marital negativity, as well as for the idea that trait anxiety is directly related to spouses' own marital satisfaction. Trait anxiety did not distinguish couples who divorced from those who remained married, and it generally did not predict declines in marital satisfaction. The disagreeable impact of trait anxiety on marriage was evident at the outset of marriage and was stable over time.

Anxiety · Big Five personality traits · Developmental psychology · Interpersonal communication · Interpersonal perception · Interpersonal relationship · Negative affectivity · Negativity effect · Neuroticism · Perception · Personality · Psychiatry · Social perception · Trait · Trait anxiety · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology