Typological differences in predicting marital happiness from oral history behaviors and imagined interactions

Abstract

Oral history interviews are informal, clinical interviews in which married couples discuss problems in their relationships responding to questions concerning the chronology of their marriage, philosophy about marriage, factors constituting a happy marriage, and the effects of their parents’ marriage on their own marriage. In the present study, couples were videotaped in their homes. Spouse and marital ideology differences were examined in relation to verbal and nonverbal responses of affiliation, signaling sharing, and espousing joint sentiments about satisfaction in marriage. Couples were classified as Traditional, Independents, and Separates using Fitzpatrick's (1988) typology. A regression analysis revealed that husbands’ marital happiness was predicted by their wives’ responsiveness, husbands’ use of “we‐ness,” fondness for wives, and wives’ use of “we‐ness.” The wives’ marital happiness was predicted by their fondness for husbands and their use of “we‐ness.” A multiple discriminant analysis revealed that Traditionals and Independents showed more fondness in their oral histories than Separates. In addition, having pleasant imagined interactions (IIs) with a partner predicted marital happiness for Traditionals and Independents. Results are discussed in terms of existing findings for oral history variables, marital happiness, and IIs.