Economic hardship, positive affect, and marital processes over middle years

Abstract

Family economic hardship (FEH) can negatively impact the quality of marital relationships, and research has shown that increased distress of husbands and wives at least partially mediates this association. Research has shown that FEH not only increases feelings of distress but also depletes individuals’ positive feelings. The mediating role of positive affect (PA), however, has received less attention. The current study used data from the Iowa Midlife Transitions Project with a sample of 370 married couples providing data from 1991 to 2001. Latent growth curves were estimated for families’ economic hardship and spouses’ PA. Increasing FEH over time generally resulted in the depletion of individuals’ PA after controlling for each spouse’s negative personality characteristics. These growth curves were included in a structural equation model ultimately assessing spouses’ marital quality (MQ). PA trajectories were related to hostile couple context, which was associated with reduced MQ. Findings emphasize the long-term consequences of FEH across middle adulthood on subsequent marital processes through both intra-individual (i.e., PA) and inter-individual (i.e., marital hostility) processes, suggesting that effective prevention and intervention efforts must account for influences at multiple levels and over extended periods of time on MQ. Furthermore, these findings support efforts aiming to strengthen positive psychological resources, rather than reducing psychological distress, as a means to improve MQ.