Spousal Intrusion as a Predictor of Wives' Marital Satisfaction in Their Spouses' Retirement

Abstract

Retirement of men changes their roles and participation and affects their spouses' daily routines, roles, and participation. This study assessed the effects of spousal intrusion on marital satisfaction in retirement. Questionnaires assessing demographics, spousal intrusion, shared couple activities, feelings, and marital satisfaction were administered to a group of 151 volunteer women whose husbands were retired in two cities in Turkey. The women were recruited among those who were willing to share their feelings and thoughts about their husbands' retirement process as a result of one-on-one interviews. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the perception of spousal intrusion, education status, frequency of shared activities, and dyadic adjustment predicted women's marital satisfaction in retirement. However, spousal intrusion did not significantly predict women's marital satisfaction when dyadic adjustment was entered in the second model. In the third model, final variables together predicted 19% of women's marital satisfaction in their spouse's retirement. These findings are important as they underline the factors affecting women's marital satisfaction in their spouses' retirement period.