| A need was recognized for a broad-based quantitative study on the impact of unemployment upon marital relationship quality in light of recent societal changes and the current economic climate. Recently, researchers have suggested that unemployment is less severe in partnerships that reflect progressive shifts in values and expectations within marital relationships. It was worth exploring whether this claim generalized across a broader sample of contemporary marriages, including those that uphold more traditional values.;An ex post facto correlational design was used to assess how unemployment impacts marital quality in single breadwinner vs. dual-earner couples in the current economy. Participants were recruited nationwide to complete an online questionnaire consisting of a demographic questionnaire and two measures of marital quality, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Revised Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. A canonical correlation analysis was utilized to assess the degree to which participants' beliefs about marital roles, levels of education, duration of marriage, duration of unemployment, and frequency of unemployment affected marital quality when a spouse loses work.;The canonical correlation model was not significant. The results of follow-up repeated measures ANOVAs suggested that most participants were under-satisfied with their marriages at present; however, faith in and commitment to the relationship (as evidenced by a high degree of satisfaction with how the relationship developed since it began) seemed to sustain marriages despite short-term obstacles. In addition, Pearson product moment correlations suggested that generational and socioeconomic differences may have impacted the model. |
