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Cited by 557Family Dynamics and RelationshipsAttachment and Relationship DynamicsMarriage and Family Dynamics

Has the Future of Marriage Arrived? A Contemporary Examination of Gender, Marriage, and Psychological Well-Being

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Williams, Kristi·2003·Journal of Health and Social Behavior
DOI 10.2307/1519794PMC PMC4018193
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Abstract

A long tradition of research and theory on gender, marriage, and mental health suggests that marital status is more important to men's psychological well-being than women's while marital quality is more important to women's well-being than men's. These beliefs rest largely on a theoretical and empirical foundation established in the 1970s, but, despite changes in gender and family roles, they have rarely been questioned. The present analysis of three waves of a nationally representative survey indicates that, with few exceptions, the effects of marital status, marital transitions, and marital quality on psychological well-being are similar for men and women. Further, for men and women, occupying an unsatisfying marriage undermines psychological well-being to a similar extent--and, in some cases, to a greater extent--than exiting marriage or being continually unmarried.

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  • Relationship quality, satisfaction of needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness, and a secure attachment with the partner have been indicated as strong indicators of well-being.

    “The relationship quality, the satisfaction of the needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness and a secure attachment with the partner have been indicated as strong indicators of well-being [7,164].”

    From Well-Being and Romantic Relationships: A Systematic Review in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (2019) · cites this paper as [164]

    The Results (page not provided) report that marital quality was strongly associated with changes in depression and life satisfaction, supporting the relationship-quality part of the claim. The paper does not address satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness needs or secure attachment with a partner. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • The mixed marital-status findings might reflect variable quality of marital relationships, as being in an unsatisfying marriage might undermine mental health more than being single or divorced.

    “Our mixed findings might reflect the variable quality of marital relationships, as being in an unsatisfying marriage might undermine mental health to a greater extent than being single or divorced (Thomas, Liu, & Umberson, 2017; K. Williams, 2003).”

    From The relationship between acceptance of cancer and distress: A meta-analytic review (2019) · cites this paper as K. Williams, 2003

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Gilligan Carol. In a Different Voice. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, MA: 1982. [Google Scholar]
  2. House James S. American’s Changing Lives: Wave I [machine readable data file] Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research; Ann Arbor, MI: 1986. [Google Scholar]
  3. Ross Catherine E., Mirowsky John, Goldsteen Karen. The Impact of Family on Health: The Decade in Review. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1990;52:1059–78. [Google Scholar]
  4. U.S. Bureau of the Census . Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1991. U.S. Government Printing Office; Washington, D.C.: 1991. [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Williams, K.
Affiliations
The Ohio State University (US)
Corresponding author
Williams, Kristi
ORCID
Williams, Kristi
Venue
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2003-12
Volume
44
Issue
4
Pages
470
ISSN
0022-1465 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2307/1519794
PMC
PMC4018193
OpenAlex
W1992317667
Cited by
557
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 61 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 45
FWCI
22.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Health and Social Behavior (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (2T32AG00243, T32AG000243)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Marriage and Family Dynamics
Keywords
marriage, gender differences, psychological well-being, marital status, marital quality, marital transitions, marital satisfaction, divorce, unmarried status, gender roles
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Data Collection, Family Relations, Female, Gender Identity, Humans, Male, Marriage, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Quality of Life

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