Personality and the Marital Context

Abstract

Clearly, the marital relationship is an important source of social support. Three out of four married people name their spouse as their best friend, and four out of five married people say they would marry the same person again (Greely, 1991). Marital partners often are named as the persons most likely turned to for support in times of need (Berg-Cross, 1974; Dakof {\&} Taylor, 1990), and marital partners are more effective than others at providing many aspects of this support (Cutrona, 1986). In addition, spouses are most likely to be named as confidants and as primary sources of social support and companionship (Beach, Martin, Blum, {\&} Roman, 1993).