Perceived Control and Power in Marriage

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Abstract
This study investigated the association between marital power and satisfaction. Usually power has been defined by which spouse makes the most final decisions, but these respondents were asked about both who makes decisions and who performs tasks. Because perceived control may be a link between power and satisfaction, it was hypothesized that marital satisfaction is more highly correlated with perceived control over decisions and tasks than is frequency of decision making or task performance. In all, 37 married couples completed questionnaires regarding marital satisfaction, decision making, task performance, perceived control over decisions and tasks, and power. For both sexes, only perceived control over tasks was positively correlated with satisfaction. Women indicated a negative correlation between task performance and perceived control. Thus, perceptions of control over task distribution influenced marital satisfaction rather than perceived decision control, reported decision making, or task performance.