Abstract
The purpose of this study is to validate the Dutch Marital Satisfaction and Communication Questionnaire (DMSCQ), a 16-item measure that disentangles marital satisfaction, negative communication and open communication. In three subsequent studies empirical evidence for the construct and criterion validity is presented using (confirmatory) factor analyses, and correlational analyses with criterion variables. Results indicate that the 16 items represent a solid three-factor structure, which was replicated across time and in independent samples. High agreement in factor structure between men and women was demonstrated by high levels of Tucker's coefficient of congruence. The internal consistencies of the marital satisfaction and negative communication scales are good; for the open communication scale it is somewhat lower but still acceptable. Consistent evidence was obtained for a negative relationship between the three marital outcomes and parental depression and conflictual family climate whereas the three former are positively related to life satisfaction and well-being. Spouses who feel restricted by their parental role or experience parenting stress tend to be less satisfied with their partnership and perceive the marital communication as more negative. Our results demonstrate that the DMSCQ provides a brief, valid and reliable measure of marital satisfaction, negative and open communication.
Highlights
Population and Family Research, Center for Sociological Research (CESO), Catholic University of Leuven; Ad Vermulst (PhD) is senior researcher, and Jan Gerris, full professor at the Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
To deal with the need for a valid but briefer and stable measure of the above-cited aspects, we present in this article the development and validation of the Dutch Marital Satisfaction and Communication Questionnaire (DMSCQ)
Factorial structure Initially we verified if the three-factor model with marital satisfaction, negative communication and open communication as latent variables was acceptable for husbands and wives
Summary
Within a Dyadic Adjustment approach, which was prominent during the 1970s, satisfaction and communication were both considered as indicators of a broader concept labeled marital adjustment or marital quality (Spanier, 1976) This approach and the widely known Dyadic Adjustment Scale that was developed within this thinking, received much conceptual as well methodological criticism (Fincham & Bradbury, 1987; Norton, 1983; Sabatelli, 1988). Instead of measuring different aspects of the marital relationship, only marital satisfaction, which is an overall evaluation toward one’s partner and the relationship, is used as a referent for marital quality This approach is appealing, because it allows researchers to draw inferences about how communication behaviour is associated with marital satisfaction
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