Citation

Neff LA, Karney BR. J. Marriage Fam. 2007; 69(3): 594-607.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, National Council on Family Relations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00394.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Studies of stress and marital quality often assess stress as an intrapersonal phenomenon, examining how spouses’ stress may influence their own relationship well-being. Yet spouses’ stress also may influence partners’ relationship evaluations, a phenomenon referred to as stress crossover. This study examined stress crossover, and conditions that may facilitate crossover, in a sample of 169 newlywed couples over 3.5 years. A significant crossover effect emerged for husbands, which was moderated by couples’ observed conflict resolution skills. For wives, a significant stress interaction emerged, such that the influence of husbands’ stress on wives’ marital satisfaction depended on wives’ own stress levels. These findings highlight the importance of a dyadic approach when examining the role of stress in marriage.