Keywords

Married people; Psychology; Older people; Sexual behavior

Abstract

This study investigated cognitive components of marital adjustment and the role of social desirability response sets in a sample of retired older adults. It was hypothesized that higher marital adjustment scores would correlate negatively with dysfunctional beliefs concerning marriage. The objectives of the study were to identify which irrational beliefs are related to higher and lower levels of marital adjustment, and to determine the extent to which higher adjustment scores reflect the tendency to respond in a socially desirable manner. The sample consisted of 45 married couples, each partner of which was retired and aged 65 years or older. Assessment was made by self-report using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), Relationship Belief Inventory (Eidelson & Epstein, 1982), and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). Significant correlations were found between virtually all total scores for the total sample as well as males and females separately. Results support the hypotheses that higher Dyadic Adjustment Scale scores were negatively correlated with lower Relationship Belief Inventory and Social Desirability Scale scores. No significant differences were found between males and females on any of the variables.

Notes

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Graduation Date

1987

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Jensen, Bernard J.

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree Program

Clinical Psychology

Format

PDF

Pages

62 p.

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0020677

Contributor (Linked data)

Bernard J. Jensen (Q58979626)

Accessibility Status

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