Being married has been associated with a better attitude to aging and a buffer against stressful situations, factors that influence mental health. The study analyzes the role of self-perceptions of aging and stress related to the COVID–19 pandemic in the association between marital satisfaction and participants’ mental health. 246 people older than 40 years in a marital/partner relationship were assessed. A path analysis was tested, where self-perceptions of aging and stress from the COVID–19 situation were proposed as mechanisms of action in the association between marital satisfaction and anxious and depressive symptoms. Marital satisfaction, self-perceptions of aging, and stress associated with the COVID–19 pandemic significantly contributed to the model and explained 31% of the variance in participants´ anxious symptomatology, and 42% of the variance in depressive symptomatology. The indirect path of self-perceptions of aging and stress associated with the COVID–19 pandemic in the link between marital satisfaction and anxious and depressive symptoms was statistically significant for both outcome variables. The findings of this study suggest that lower perceived marital satisfaction is associated with higher levels of negative self-perceptions of aging and with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms. Public significance statements: This study suggests that higher marital satisfaction may be a buffer for negative self-perception of aging, and both factors are related with experiencing less stress from COVID–19. These links are associated with less anxious and depressive symptoms.

As a result of the gerotranscendence process, marital satisfaction becomes especially important in old age. At the same time, researchers emphasise that the effect of seniors’ personality on their marital satisfaction depends on many mediators. The analysis of literature suggests that one such variable might be forgiveness. Thus, the aim of the present research was to investigate whether forgiveness mediates the relationship between personality traits and marital satisfaction in late adulthood. The study involved 315 participants aged 60–75. Three psychological methods were used: (a) the Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire for Older Persons; (b) the NEO-Five Factor Inventory; and (c) the Marital Offence-Specific Forgiveness Scale. The analyses that have been undertaken revealed a number of significant associations. Neuroticism was positively related to resentment-avoidance and negatively to benevolence and marital satisfaction, whereas extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness were negatively correlated with resentment and positively with benevolence and satisfaction. The results also showed that both dimensions of dyadic forgiveness mediated the relationships between personality traits and marital satisfaction in ageing persons. They suggest that forgiveness of a spouse, when enhanced, could work as a buffer against the negative impact of neuroticism on marital happiness, as well as allowing the transfer of positive aspects of extraverted, agreeable and conscientious tendencies into marriage. Practical implications of the study for counselling older adults are recommended.

This study aims to investigate the role of marital satisfaction and personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) in predicting attitudes toward infidelity. The participants of the study were 438 married men and women ranging in age from 22 to 40 years old (M = 31.02, SD = 4.3). The results from the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Evaluation and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH) Marital Satisfaction Scale and Attitudes toward Infidelity Scale used in this study indicate that conscientiousness and neuroticism, followed by marital satisfaction and gender, are significant predictors of attitudes toward infidelity. From these results, it can be concluded that attitudes toward infidelity can be predicted by demographic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors.

We validated the Japanese version of the Multidimensional Stress Questionnaire for Couples (MSQ) and examined construct validity and reliability. We conducted an online longitudinal survey of 300 husbands and 300 wives. The Japanese version of the MSQ (MSQ-J) had a two-factor structure centred on internal and external stressors. The internal-stressor factor showed sufficient validity and reliability, indicating its suitability for measuring marital stressors. The external-stressors factor also showed acceptable validity for both husbands and wives. The findings indicate that the MSQ-J is suitable for both research and clinical practice.

This study elucidated the relationship-focused coping patterns of Japanese child-rearing couples. Participants were 101 Japanese couples with at least one pre-school child who was attending one of four daycare centres. Questionnaires included a Japanese version of the relationship-focused coping questionnaire, the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Cluster analysis revealed three relationship-focused coping patterns: ‘wife escapes/husband combines’, ‘mutual active relationship maintenance couples’, and ‘wife engages/husband combines’. Our study showed that relationship-focused coping has multidimensional aspects within couples. Furthermore, mutual active relationship maintenance after marital conflict within couples is important for their marital satisfaction.

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the constructs subjective well-being (SWB), dyadic adjustment (DA) and marital satisfaction (MS). Participants were 106 married Brazilians, of both sexes, with a mean age of 42 (± 11) years. Instruments used for the sociodemographic characterization and socioeconomic classification were the Subjective Well-being Scale (SWBS), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the Marital Satisfaction Scale (MSS). Through the analysis of correlations and of stepwise multiple regression, it was verified that all the factors of the dyadic adjustment showed correlation with the marital satisfaction. The satisfaction with life (factor of the SWBS) and dyadic satisfaction (factor of the DAS), were positively and significantly correlated (r = .20; p = .04), which reveals that people who say they are satisfied with life in different domains also do so in relation to the marital experience.

The current study examines constructs that contribute to the well-being of an international sample of older married adults. A convenience sample of 208 participants was recruited through an Internet site as well as more traditional means such as newspaper advertisements and contact with community groups. The resulting structural equation model provides further support for the revised theory of cognitive adaptation. Within this model, the direct and indirect contributions of personality, marital satisfaction, and cognitive adaptation are examined in relation to well-being. Contrary to previous findings, personality appears to have an indirect effect upon both marital satisfaction and well-being. Cognitive adaptation, in contrast, has both a direct and indirect effect upon the well-being of older adults. Limitations of use of the Internet as a vehicle for data collection are considered as well as directions for future study.

Utilising a comparison research design of mothers involved in fostering (N = 28) and their peers (N = 28), the major findings were that within the fostering group, those who had been fostering the longest had the lowest sense of efficacy, reflecting that the experience of providing foster care eroded parents' sense of their own skill. In terms of attachment to the children, the data suggested that foster carers may resist becoming too close to the children in their care in order to limit the emotional cost of subsequent separation. Importantly, there was no significant correlation between the length of time in providing foster care and marital satisfaction, which supports the notion that providing foster care does not, in itself, cause marital stress. While formal support services were more utilised by foster carers there was some indication that this group is not well integrated into the broader community. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that over the long-term providing fostering care has some negative consequences for the carers in terms of their self-confidence. Agencies designated to work with carers need to consider proactive strategies to reduce this consequence.