Power and satisfaction in marriage: A review and critique.

Abstract

Empirical studies of the relation between husband-wife power interactions and marital satisfaction are critically examined. Both self-report and observational measures of marital power interactions have tended, in general, to suffer from similar difficulties, including overly simplistic conceptualizations of power processes and limitations in the measurement of marital power and marital satisfaction. Despite these weaknesses, this group of studies has been fairly consistent in indicating that marriages in which the wife appears to be dominant are the most likely to be unhappy, whereas highest levels of satisfaction are more often found among egalitarian couples. Another group of studies focusing on the bases of marital power suggests that coercive control techniques may be related to marital dissatisfaction. This review also includes a discussion of the kind of expanded framework that future studies will need in order to make additional theoretical and substantive contributions to the understanding of power and satisfaction in marriage.This review critically examines research on the association between marital power and marital satisfaction. The literature on marriage and the family reflects a major concern with marital power; however, theoretical as well as methodological problems have hampered study in this area, as exemplified by the weakness both of conceptual and of operational definitions of marital power (Beck-

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The division of labor in close relationships: An asymmetrical conflict issue

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