Table 4.
Differences in Marital Satisfaction and Communication Trajectories between Couples Entering Marriage With and Without a Child
| Intercept | Linear Slope | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Nonparent Newlywed β (SE) | Premarital Parent β (SE) |
χ2 | Effect size φ | Nonparent Newlywed β (SE) | Effect size r | Premarital Parent β (SE) | Effect size r | χ2 | Effect size φ |
| No Controls | ||||||||||
| Husbands’ satisfaction | 34.17 (0.19) | 33.12 (0.29) | 8.86** | .15 | −0.033 (0.007) | .22 | −0.013 (0.012) | .06 | 1.76 | .07 |
| Wives’ satisfaction | 33.58 (0.21) | 32.14 (0.32) | 14.45*** | .20 | −0.038 (0.009) | .23 | −0.047 (0.014) | .18 | 0.31 | .03 |
| Husbands’ positivity | 2.44 (0.04) | 2.12 (0.06) | 23.71*** | .25 | −0.002 (0.002) | .05 | −0.004 (0.003) | .07 | 0.50 | .04 |
| Wives’ positivity | 2.40 (0.03) | 2.06 (0.05) | 27.33*** | .27 | 0.001 (0.002) | .01 | 0.001 (0.003) | .02 | 0.05 | .01 |
| Husbands’ negativity | 1.77 (0.03) | 2.07 (0.05) | 24.86*** | .26 | −0.002 (0.002) | .08 | −0.005 (0.002) | .10 | 0.81 | .05 |
| Wives’ negativity | 1.82 (0.03) | 2.12 (0.03) | 22.47*** | .24 | 0.001 (0.002) | .04 | −0.002 (0.003) | .05 | 1.40 | .06 |
| Husbands’ effectiveness | 4.18 (0.05) | 3.89 (0.08) | 8.98** | .15 | −0.010 (0.002) | .20 | −0.018 (0.004) | .23 | 3.06 | .09 |
| Wives’ effectiveness | 4.30 (0.05) | 4.04 (0.08) | 7.32** | .14 | −0.010 (0.002) | .22 | −0.018 (0.004) | .24 | 2.97 | .09 |
| Models with Demographic Controls | ||||||||||
| Husbands’ satisfaction | 34.62 (0.94) | 33.40 (0.94) | 9.96** | .16 | −0.033 (0.008) | .22 | -0.017(0.012) | .07 | 1.24 | .06 |
| Wives’ satisfaction | 34.04 (0.93) | 32.43 (0.96) | 15.08*** | .20 | −0.037 (0.009) | .22 | −0.046(0.014) | .17 | 0.29 | .03 |
| Husbands’ positivity | 2.54 (0.14) | 2.33 (0.15) | 9.19** | .16 | −0.001 (0.002) | .05 | −0.004 (0.003) | .08 | 0.76 | .04 |
| Wives’ positivity | 2.44 (0.09) | 2.23 (0.10) | 10.86** | .17 | 0.001 (0.002) | .01 | −0.001 (0.003) | .01 | 0.02 | .01 |
| Husbands’ negativity | 1.83 (0.14) | 2.12 (0.14) | 19.30*** | .23 | −0.002 (0.002) | .08 | −0.005 (0.003) | .10 | 0.67 | .04 |
| Wives’ negativity | 1.87 (0.14) | 2.15 (0.15) | 18.43*** | .22 | 0.001 (0.002) | .04 | −0.002 (0.003) | .05 | 1.29 | .06 |
| Husbands’ effectiveness | 3.82 (0.21) | 3.62 (0.21) | 3.82 | .10 | −0.010 (0.002) | .21 | −0.018 (0.004) | .23 | 2.68 | .08 |
| Wives’ effectiveness | 3.89 (0.21) | 3.74 (0.22) | 2.39 | .08 | −0.010 (0.002) | .21 | −0.018 (0.004) | .23 | 2.48 | .08 |
| Models with Demographic Controls and Communication Controls | ||||||||||
| Husbands’ satisfaction | 33.17 (1.16) | 32.31 (1.17) | 4.74* | .11 | −0.033 (0.008) | −.22 | −0.020 (0.013) | −.08 | 0.80 | .04 |
| Wives’ satisfaction | 32.65 (1.16) | 31.24 (1.19) | 11.51*** | .17 | −0.039 (0.009) | −.23 | −0.047 (0.014) | −.17 | 0.25 | .02 |
Notes. One unit of time equals one month. Demographic controls included race, age, education, household income, work status, relationship length, and premarital cohabitation (entered simultaneously). Communication controls included positivity, negativity, and effectiveness (entered simultaneously with demographic controls). Significant differences between couples with children at the start of marriage (premarital parents) and couples without children at the start of marriage (nonparent newlyweds) based on the χ2 are shown in bold. Effect size φ is the effect size for the difference between premarital parents and nonparent newlyweds and is equal to √(χ2/n). Effect size r is the effect size for the slope terms and is equal to Z/√N.
p < .05.
p < .01.
p < .001.