Publications

Unemployment and marital quality in Great Recession America: An exploratory canonical correlation analysis.

Faculty Author(s): Bland, Andrew M.
Student Author(s): -
Department: PSYCH
Publication: Journal of Humanistic Psychology
Year: 2021
Abstract: To contribute to the literature on unemployment and marital quality in light of rapid social, economic, and political changes that characterized the past decade (2008-2018), this exploratory study assessed how unemployment during the Great Recession affected marital quality based on participants’ beliefs about marital roles (on a continuum from more traditional to more progressive) and on their levels of education, duration of marriage, and duration and frequency of unemployment. Nationwide, 129 participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of two scales of marital quality (Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Revised Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale) plus demographic items. Although the canonical correlation analysis was not significant, a number of trends emerged that suggested possibilities worthy of discussion and that provide a foundation for further research. For example, the results suggested the possibility that humanistic theorizing on unemployment and marriage might not be confined to ideological beliefs about gender-based marital roles, and that marital quality in the face of unemployment may be more directly affected by education level. Moreover, repeated measures analyses of variance suggested that, although most participants experienced situational distress, faith in and commitment to the relationship seemed to sustain marriages despite the short-term obstacle of unemployment, which echoes humanistic psychologists’ focus on resilience in relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Link: Unemployment and marital quality in Great Recession America: An exploratory canonical correlation analysis.