Intimacy and Autonomy in Long Term Marriag
- 20 September 1999
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Gerontological Social Work
- Vol. 32 (1) , 83-97
- https://doi.org/10.1300/j083v32n01_06
Abstract
Marital literature has identified partner intimacy and autonomy as important determinants of marital satisfaction. However, little is known about how the balance of intimacy and autonomy affects the success of long term marriages among older couples. The author surveyed 88 men and 92 women in long term stable marriages to examine the effects of partner intimacy and autonomy on marital satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses revealed that intimacy was positively related, and hostile control was negatively related to marital satisfaction. Older respondents rated their partners higher in intimacy than middle aged respondents, and husbands were rated higher in providing autonomy than were wives. Intimacy and avoidance of hostile control were more important than autonomy to long term married couples. Social workers can draw upon a number of approaches to marital therapy that enhance couple intimacy.Keywords
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