Personality Traits and Marital Adjustment: Interaction between Intra and Interpersonal Aspects

Abstract

Personality characteristics have been evaluated due to the reflexes that they provoke in the conjugal satisfaction and adjustment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the actor-partner effects of personality traits on the conjugal adjustment of heterosexual couples. The study, quantitative and explanatory, evaluated 231 couples from different cities of Rio Grande do Sul. Respondents completed the Socio-demographic questionnaire, the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Personality Adjectives Marker scale. The data was analyzed using the Latent Traits Model. The results indicate that socialization, neuroticism and achievement factors have an effect on the marital adjustment of husbands and wives. There is a partner effect on the wives’ neuroticism factor and on the husbands’ achievement factor. The extroversion and openness factors do not provoke actor-partner effects on the adjustment of the couples. The results are discussed in the light of other studies and research agendas are suggested.

Dyadic relationships between personality, social support, conflict resolution, and marital quality

“…Conscientiousness and agreeableness also predicted all three conflict resolution strategies. The link between conscientiousness and marital relations was also found in another study in Brazil (Costa & Mosmann, 2021) and other countries (A. Claxton et al, 2012;Lavner et al, 2018;Malouff et al, 2010;O'Meara & South, 2019;Vater & Schröder-Abé, 2015).…”

“…Conscientiousness and agreeableness also predicted all three conflict resolution strategies. The link between conscientiousness and marital relations was also found in another study in Brazil (Costa & Mosmann, 2021) and other countries (A. Claxton et al, 2012; Lavner et al, 2018; Malouff et al, 2010; O'Meara & South, 2019; Vater & Schröder‐Abé, 2015). This trait is associated with positive emotion regulation strategies, such as greater problem‐solving, mindfulness, and acceptance, as well as lower avoidance and suppression (Barańczuk, 2019).…”

“…Another Brazilian study linking the Big Five personality traits to marital adjustment found results in the same direction (Costa & Mosmann, 2021). There were actor effects for both partners in conscientiousness, agreeableness (positive), and neuroticism (negative), as well as partner effects for wife's neuroticism (negative) and husband's conscientiousness (positive) on the respective partner marital adjustment.…”

“…In Brazil, research investigating the associations between personality and romantic relationships is still scarce. The available evidence, however, shows results in the same direction, with greater conscientiousness and agreeableness, as well as lower neuroticism predicting better marital adjustment (Costa & Mosmann, 2021).…”

Selección de pareja y tiempo de relación en padres de familia.

“…Batista y Pereira (21) dicen que la socialización, el neuroticismo y los factores de rendimiento actúan sobre el ajuste marital. Los seres humanos muestran una patrón constate en la elección de sus parejas que permite predecir con éxito las características de las personas de quienes se enamoran y mantienen una relación sentimental.…”