Marital Relationships in Late Adulthood: Synchronous versus Asynchronous Couples

Abstract

The article presents a study on marital relations in late adulthood, conducted among a sample of 469 Israeli couples, who were divided into four groups based on occupational status and spousal timing of retirement. Two of the groups were categorized as synchronous: pre-retired couples (both partners are close to retirement); and retired couples (both partners are retired), and two of the groups were categorized as asynchronous: employed husband/retired wife and retired husband wife/employed husband. Differences between the groups were examined in three areas: Division of tasks in the home; marital power relations; and quality of marriage. Regarding division of tasks in the home, feminine tasks were usually more egalitarian among retired couples and retired husbands/employed wives than among pre-retired couples and employed husbands/retired wives. In addition, synchronous-retired couples were found to be more egalitarian than synchronous-pre-retired and asynchronous employed husbands/retired wives with regard to general tasks, while masculine tasks were usually carried out by husbands in all four groups. With respect to quality of marriage, the pre-retired couples expressed more marital complaints than did the retired couples, while no differences were found between either of the asynchronous groups. Nonetheless, marital power relations were generally egalitarian in all four groups.

Difficulties, Disagreements, and Disappointments in Late-Life Marriages

“…This suggests that retirement is perceived by both husband and wife as not being a negative transition for couples. This is consistent with previous research on retirement and marital satisfaction (Ekerdt & Vinick, 1991;Kulik, 2001;Miller, Peterson, & Bengtson, 1998;Moen, Kim, & Hofmeister, 2001), which generally found few negative effects of retirement on marital quality.…”

Adjustment Process in Retired Iranian Nurses

“…After retirement, they wanted to increase their life satisfaction through being with their family members and meeting their needs. Many previous studies have shown that retirement leads to increased interactions with family and friends (55,(57)(58)(59). Andrews et al defined three factors that influence this adaptation as; profession-related stress, inflexible work hours and salary (15).…”

“…While retired nurses received emotional support from their families (25). Some studies indicated that retired nurses were faced with a reduced standard of living (63,67): however, the results of Kulik's study showed that the living conditions of retired people were not changed (57). This study explored the retirement adjustment process according to the knowledge and experiences of retired Iranian nurses.…”

Gender Role Ideology as a Moderator of the Relationship between Social Power Tactics and Marital Satisfaction

“…In more traditional, non-Western countries, husbands were likely to make the family decisions. Similarly, in her study of marital relationships in Israel, Kulik (2001) found that retired as well as nonretired Israeli couples, were overall egalitarian in their decision making. She also observed that just as has been reported in United States both societies encourage dual earner families and view job opportunities and professional activities for women in a positive light.…”