The mediating role of marital quality in the stress-well-being relationship. Are there gender differences?

The mediating role of marital quality in the stress-well-being relationship. Are there gender differences?Prof. Phd. Maria-Nicoleta TurliucPhd. student Petrua RusuAl. I. Cuza University of Iai, Romania Motivation Objectivesto analyze the influence of family stress on marital quality (marital satisfaction and dyadic coping) and on well-beingto evaluate a model of mediation for explaining the relationship between family stress and spouses psychological well-beingto study gender differences in the stress-marital quality- well-being relationshipSample430 participants, 215 married couples, husband and wife, 217 people from rural area, 213 people from urban area, christian-orthodox believersInstrumentsMSF-P Multidimensional Stress Questionnaire for Couples (Bodenmann, 2007), Dyadic Coping Inventory DCI, Bodenmann, 2007, Couples-Satisfaction Index- CSI 32, Funk & Rogge, 2007) i SWBS - Spiritual Well Being Scale, Bufford, Paloutzian & Ellison, 1991.

ResultsThe paths indicate that family stress is negatively related to marital quality, while marital quality is positively related to well-beingExternal family stress has a positive direct effect on internal family stress ( = 0,51, p 0,001), influencing indirect both chronic internal stress ( = 0,44, p 0,001), and acute internal stress ( = 0,48, p 0,01).

ResultsExternal stress explains 26% of the variance of internal stress (R2=0,26) , external stress and internal stress explain 40% of the variance of family functionality (R2 = 0,40), although external stress, internal stress and family functionality explain 45 % of the variance of the well-being (R2 = 0,45).

General model

Gender differencesActor-partner interdependence model

Durata csniciei 11 ani

Durata csniciei > 11 anifuncionalitatea familial are o influen mai mare asupra strii de bine a femeilor dect asupra strii de bine a brbailor. There are gender differences regarding the influence of marital satisfaction on existential well-being. For wives marital satisfaction has a greater influence on well-being than for husbands. Rezultatele obinute arat c exist diferene ntre soi i soii n privina relaiei dintre satisfacia marital i starea existenial de bine. Remarcm c n cazul soiilor satisfacia marital are un efect mai mare asupra strii de bine existeniale comparativ cu soii. Exist i alte studii care arat c legtura dintre calitatea marital i starea personal de bine este mai puternic n cazul femeilor i c femeile sunt mai vulnerabile la insatisfacia marital i percep problemele maritale ca fiind un stresor mai puternic comparativ cu brbaii (Proulx, Helms & Buehler, 2007).