Work Integration, Marital Satisfaction, and Conjugal Power

Abstract

Information was gathered on several aspects of the work integration of a sample of husbands and on the marital satisfaction and power relations of the husbands and their wives. These data were separately factor analyzed, producing three factors of work integration: Job Satisfaction, Power Relations, and Mobility Aspirations; and two factors of marital integration: Marital Satisfaction and Conjugal Power. The items loading these factors were intercorrelated with the following results: items dealing with the intrinsic satisfactions of work, such as meaningfulness of work, liking for it, control over pace of work, correlated significantly with items indicating satisfaction of both husband and wife; items indicating extrinsic satisfactions of work, such as income, recognition, and job prestige, were not related to items of marital satisfaction. Additionally, there was little relationship between work integration and conjugal power. Finally, mobility aspirations appeared to be determined by wife's dominance and dissatisfaction. This, however, was found to be explained by social class.