The current study evaluated the associations between externalizing psychopathology and marital adjustment in a combined sample of 1,805 married couples. We further considered the role of personality in these associations, as personality has been found to predict both the development of externalizing psychopathology as well as marital distress and instability. Diagnostic interviews assessed Conduct Disorder, adult symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Alcohol Dependence. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale was used to measure marital adjustment. Results indicate that more externalizing psychopathology, greater Negative Emotionality, and lower Communal Positive Emotionality were associated with reduced marital adjustment in both individuals and their spouses. Low Constraint was associated with reduced marital adjustment for individuals but not for their spouses. Multivariate analyses indicated externalizing psychopathology continued to predict marital adjustment even when accounting for overlap with personality. These results highlight the importance of examining the presence of externalizing psychopathology and the personality attributes of both members of a dyad when considering psychological predictors of marital adjustment. Keywordsexternalizing; psychopathology; personality; marital adjustment Satisfying marriages are valued by nearly all adults in the United States (e.g., Karney & Bradbury, 2005). Indeed, marital satisfaction is one of the largest correlates of life satisfaction according to a recent meta-analysis (average r = .42: Heller, Watson, & Ilies, 2004). Moreover, distressing romantic relationships are associated with poor physical health and diminished well-being (Bloom, Asher, & White, 1978;Kiecolt-Glaser & Newton, 2001). Given these findings, there is considerable clinical interest in understanding the risk factors for relationship distress. The primary objective of the present study is to examine how externalizing spectrum psychopathology (i.e., substance use disorders and antisocial behavior; Krueger, Markon, Patrick, & Iacono, 2005) and personality traits are uniquely associated with marital adjustment in sample of over 1,800 married couples. Theoretical Perspectives Linking Personal Attributes to Intimate RelationshipsTheoretical approaches to relationships have been broadly distinguished as either intrapersonal or interpersonal (see Kelly & Conley, 1987 NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript differences in either personality or psychopathology are associated with relationship functioning whereas interpersonal approaches focus on how behavioral interactions between partners are associated with relationship quality and stability. Several integrative models have recognized that these are complementary perspectives, linking individual differences and interpersonal processes (e.g., Bradbury & Fincham, 1988;Caughlin, Huston, & Houts, 2000;Donnellan, Assad, Robins, & Conger,...

We investigated whether spousal similarity for personality traits results from convergence (i.e., couples becoming more similar to one another over time) or selection (i.e., individuals selecting partners with similar traits) in a sample of 1,296 married couples. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. We evaluated whether similarity increased with increasing length of marriage. Evidence of spousal convergence was inconsistent across analyses, arguing against this mechanism as a compelling explanation for spousal similarity. Accordingly, selection processes may better explain spousal similarity in these data. The one exception might be for aggressive aspects of personality.Keywords personality similarity; assortative mating; spousal convergence Although the degree of spousal similarity for broad personality traits such as extraversion and neuroticism is somewhat inconsistent, the similarity coefficients are generally positive (e.g., Gattis, Berns, Simpson, & Christensen, 2004;Humbad, Donnellan, Iacono, & Burt, 2010;Watson et al., 2004). This raises the important question as to whether this similarity results from selection processes or spousal convergence over time. These processes have important, but very different, implications. Most notably, if partners become more or less similar to each other over time, it would support the notion that environmental factors (i.e., spouses) shape the course of adult personality development. However, evidence for any systematic social effects on personality development has a contentious status in the current literature (e.g., McCrae & Costa, 2008, p. 168). Alternately, observed spousal similarity could be a function of selection processes, pointing to assortative mating (i.e., the tendency for individuals to select partners resembling them based on certain characteristics) for personality traits. Identification of this latter process would also be important, as assortative mating could influence the intergenerational transmission of certain personality traits (e.g., Loehlin, 1992) and thereby violate common assumptions in many behavioral genetic models.The current literature generally provides weak support for spousal convergence as an explanation for spousal similarity (e.g., Barelds, 2005;Caspi, Ozer, & Herbener, 1992;Luo & Klohnen, 2005;Watson et al., 2004 et al. (2004) found that newlyweds, who had little chance to become more similar to one another over time, were similar on various attitudes and personality related dimensions, pointing to assortative mating rather than convergence. Caspi et al. (1992) found that over a 20-year time period couples did not become increasingly similar in domains such as personal values and attitudes towards marriage. Finally, other researchers have found that length of marriage does not moderate spousal similarity, again providing little support for the convergence hypothesis (Buss, 1984; Caspi et al., Luo & Klohnen, 2005;Watson et al., 2004).The current paper aims to extend existing literat...

Context Prior studies have indicated that marriage is negatively associated with male antisocial behavior. Although often interpreted as a causal association, marriage is not a random event. As such, the association may stem from selection processes, whereby men less inclined towards antisocial behavior are more likely to marry. Objective To evaluate selection versus causation explanations of the association between marriage and desistence from antisocial behavior. Design Co-twin control analyses in a prospective twin study provided an analog of the idealized counterfactual model of causation. The co-twin control design uses the unmarried co-twin of a married twin to estimate what the married twin would have looked like had he remained unmarried. Discordant monozygotic (MZ) twins are particularly informative as they share a common genotype and rearing environment. Setting General community Participants 289 male-male twin pairs (65% MZ) from the Minnesota Twin Family Study assessed at ages 17, 20, 24, and 29 years. None of the participants were married at age 17, and 2.6% were married at age 20. By age 29, 58.8% of the participants were or had been married. Interventions None Main Outcome Measure A tally of Criterion C symptoms of DSM-III-R Antisocial Personality Disorder, as assessed via structured clinical interview. Results Mean differences in antisocial behavior across marital status were present even at ages 17 and 20, suggesting a selection process. However, the within-pair effect of marriage was significant for MZ twins, such that the married twin engaged in less antisocial behavior than his unmarried co-twin. Results were equivalent to those in dizygotic twins and persisted when controlling for prior antisocial behavior. Conclusions Results indicate an initial selection effect, whereby men with lower levels of antisocial behavior are more likely to marry. However, this tendency to refrain from antisocial behavior appears to be accentuated by the state of marriage.

Profile correlations are sometimes used to quantify personality trait similarity between relationship partners. These coefficients are then used to test whether similar couples are happier couples. The current paper describes several different methods of calculating profile correlations and outlines procedures for testing whether these coefficients are related to marital adjustment in a sample of 1,643 couples. There was little evidence that profile correlations were related to marital adjustment after accounting for normativeness (i.e., the degree to which individual’s matched the typical personality profile) and when accounting for each individual’s personality attributes. Results suggest that researchers using profile correlations should be cautious given that the interpretation and psychological meaning of results often depend on how the coefficients are calculated.

Although observational studies of romantic relationships are common, many existing coding schemes require considerable amounts of time and resources to implement. The current study presents a new coding scheme, the Brief Romantic Relationship Interaction Coding Scheme (BRRICS), designed to assess various aspects of romantic relationship both quickly and efficiently. The BRRICS consists of four individual coding dimensions assessing positive and negative affect in each member of the dyad, as well as four codes assessing specific components of the dyadic interaction (i.e., positive reciprocity, demand-withdraw pattern, negative reciprocity, and overall satisfaction). Concurrent associations with measures of marital adjustment and conflict were evaluated in a sample of 118 married couples participating in the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Couples were asked to discuss common conflicts in their marriage while being videotaped. Undergraduate coders used the BRRICS to rate these interactions. The BRRICS scales were correlated in expected directions with self-reports of marital adjustment, as well as children’s perception of the severity and frequency of marital conflict. Based on these results, the BRRICS may be an efficient tool for researchers with large samples of observational data who are interested in coding global aspects of the relationship but do not have the resources to use labor intensive schemes.