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Marital Adjustment

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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

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Synonyms

Marital happiness; Marital quality; Marital satisfaction; Marital well-being

Definition

The definition of this construct is one of the most controversial topics in the literature. On the basis of various contributions, marital adjustment can be defined as a multidimensional indicator of the quality of marital relationship.

Description

Evolution of the Construct

Marital adjustment is one of the most studied dimensions in the couple and family research literature. According to Spanier (1976, p. 15), already by the 1970s, marital adjustment was “probably the most frequently investigated dependent variable in the field”. Also during the last 30 years, family researchers and scholars have maintained a strong interest on marital adjustment, as an outcome (Shriner 2009).

The literature on marital adjustment reveals a variety of factors that are related to the dyadic adjustment (e.g., individual aspects like personality traits, irrational beliefs, and dysfunctional emotions Abbasi 2017...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Family Studies and Research University Centre, Catholic University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Anna Bertoni, Raffaella Iafrate, Silvia Donato & Giada Rapelli

Authors
  1. Anna Bertoni
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  2. Raffaella Iafrate
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  3. Silvia Donato
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  4. Giada Rapelli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Bertoni .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Roma, Italy

    Filomena Maggino

Section Editor information

  1. Family Studies and Research University Centre, Catholic University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Claudia Manzi

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Bertoni, A., Iafrate, R., Donato, S., Rapelli, G. (2023). Marital Adjustment. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_1727

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