A STUDY OF PERSONALITY TRAITS, MARITAL ADJUSTMENT, AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES OF COUPLES IN CAREER-APART MARRIAGES
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dyadic adjustment, demographic variables, and personality traits of couples in career-apart marriages. The study was conducted using the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire and an adapted version of Patricia Millikin's biographical questionnaire on a non-randomized sample obtained by the use of the snowballing technique. The sample was comprised of 50 married couples who maintained separate residences in order to pursue career or educational goals. The couples had been involved in the live-apart arrangement for at least three months and were involved in this lifestyle at the time the data were collected. Personality factors, marital adjustment, and a number of demographic variables were analyzed utilizing multiple regression analysis as well as a one-way ANOVA. The variables significantly related to higher Dyadic Adjustment for the total sample were high emotional stability and low sensitivity. High emotional stability reflects perseverence, patience, thoroughness, dependability, and self-control. The career-apart arrangement is a demanding lifestyle which is facilitated by high emotional stability. Low scores on sensitivity indicate toughmindedness, practical thinking, unsentimentality, and independent thinking. Such couples are better equipped to endure the higher levels of stress associated with the career-apart arrangement. When looking at husbands and wives separately several variables were significantly related to higher Dyadic Adjustment. One of the most interesting findings was that unpredictability of the commute was significantly related to high total Marital Adjustment for both husbands and wives. Several couples reported that not knowing when they would be together made the times when they were able to be together special. Those factors significantly related to higher Dyadic Adjustment scores for men only were low sensitivity, high emotional stability, and high imagination while factors significantly related to higher Dyadic Adjustment scores for women only were high levels of income, high self-discipline, high intelligence, and high warmth. When looking at the absolute differences of the scores of husbands and wives scores on the 16PF, two relationships emerged. Significantly higher Dyadic Adjustment scores were obtained when husbands scored significantly higher on boldness than their wives. A one way ANOVA was computed to compare the Dyadic Adjustment scores of husbands and wives. No significant difference was obtained in this regard. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
Subject Area
Personality
Recommended Citation
KEVIN ERROL FELTON,
"A STUDY OF PERSONALITY TRAITS, MARITAL ADJUSTMENT, AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES OF COUPLES IN CAREER-APART MARRIAGES"
(1986).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI8802615.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI8802615