Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T22:47:09.223Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Partner Relationships and Health: Marital Quality and Health Among Peri-Urban Ethiopian Couples

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2016

Neetu A. John ,
Assefa Seme  and
Amy O. Tsui
Neetu A. John*
Affiliation:
International Center for Research on Women, Washington DC, USA
Assefa Seme
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Amy O. Tsui
Affiliation:
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Neetu A. John, International Center for Research on Women, 1120 20th Street NW, Suite 500 N, Washington DC 20036, USA. Email: neetuannjohn@gmail.com
Get access

Abstract

The linkages between marital relationship quality (MRQ) and health are well established in the West, although mutual spousal influence on each other is underexplored. In the sub-Saharan African context, despite continued health challenges and changing marital structures, this research has been neglected. This study examined the influence of spousal MRQ domains — such as trust, commitment and conflict resolution — on each other's self-reported health over time, using two waves of data from 725 couples in peri-urban Ethiopia using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model. Although MRQ and self-rated health measures of wives and husbands were associated, these relationships were complex and gendered. While the wife's health rating had a positive influence on the husband's relationship quality, the husband's health ratings were negatively associated with the wife's relationship quality. Expanding knowledge on the role of spousal influence can broaden understanding of couple mechanisms that potentially promote positive health behaviours and protect the health of spouses in different settings.

Keywords

couplesEthiopiaspousal influencespousal interdependencesocial contextmarital relationship qualityself-rated health
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 7 , 2016 , e12
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amato, P.R., David, R.J., Booth, A., & Rogers, S.J. (2003). Continuity and change in marital quality between 1980 and 2000. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbieri, M., Hertrich, V., & Grieve, M. (2005). Age difference between spouses and contraceptive practice in Sub-Saharan Africa. Population (English edition), 60, 617–654.Google Scholar
Barber, J.S., Murphy, S.A., Axinn, W.G., & Maples, J. (2000). Discrete-time multilevel hazard analysis. Sociological Methodology, 30, 201–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bookwala, J. (2005). The role of marital quality in physical health during the mature years. Journal of Aging and Health, 17, 85–104.Google Scholar
Bove, R., & Valeggia, C. (2009). Polygyny and women's health in Sub-Saharan Africa. Social Science and Medicine, 68, 21–29.Google Scholar
Burgess, E.W. (1948). The family in a changing society. American Journal of Sociology, 53, 417–422.Google Scholar
Campbell, L., & Kashy, D.A. (2002). Estimating actor, partner, and interaction effects for dyadic Data using PROC MIXED and HLM: A user-friendly guide. Personal Relationships, 9, 327–342.Google Scholar
Central Statistical Agency [Ethiopia] and ICF International. (2012). Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2011. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Calverton, MD: Author.Google Scholar
Cherlin, A.J. (2012). Goode's world revolution and family patterns: Reconsideration at fifty years. Population and Development Review, 38, 577–607.Google Scholar
Christensen, A., & Sullaway, M. (1984). Communication Patters Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Google Scholar
Diez-Roux, A.V. (2000). Multilevel analysis in public health research. Annual Review of Public Health, 21, 171–192.Google Scholar
Donoho, C.J., Crimmins, E.M., & Seeman, T.E. (2013). Marital quality, gender, and markers of inflammation in the MIDUS cohort. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 127–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ezra, M. (2003). Factors associated with marriage and family formation processes in Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 34, 509–53Google Scholar
Ferraro, K.F., & Farmer, M.M. (1999). Utility of health data from social surveys: Is there a gold standard for measuring morbidity? American Sociological Review, 64, 303–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincham, F.D., & Bradbury, T.N. (1987). The assessment of marital quality: A reevaluation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 52, 818–831.Google Scholar
Fisher, J.D., Nadler, A., & Whitcher-Alagna, S. (1982). Recipient reactions to aid. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 27–54.Google Scholar
Gallo, L.C., Troxel, W.M., Matthews, K.A., & Kuller, L.H. (2003). Marital status and quality in middle-aged women: Associations with levels and trajectories of cardiovascular risk factors. Health Psychology, 22, 453–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gupta, G.R., & Weiss, E. (1993). Women's lives and sex: Implications for AIDS prevention. Culture, Medicine And Psychiatry, 17, 399–412.Google Scholar
Harvey, S.E., Beckman, L.J., Gerend, A.M., Bird, T.S., Posner, S., Huszti, C.H., & Galavotti, C. (2006). A conceptual model of women's condom use intentions: Integrating intrapersonal and relationship factors. AIDS Care, 18, 698–709.Google Scholar
Heavey, C.L., Larson, B.M., Zumtobel, D.C., & Christensen, A. (1996). The Communication Patterns Questionnaire: The reliability and validity of a constructive communication subscale. Journal Of Marriage And Family, 58, 796–800 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, D.A., & Booth, A. (2005). Unhappily ever after: Effects of long-term, low-quality marriages on well-being. Social Forces, 84, 451–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, J.S., Landis, K.R., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241, 540–545.Google Scholar
Kelley, H.H., & Thibaut, T.W. (1978). Interpersonal relations: A theory of interdependence. New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Kelley, H.H., Bercheid, E., Christensen, A., Harvet, J.H., & Huston, T.L. (1983). Close relationships. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman & Co. Google Scholar
Kenny, D.A., Kashy, D.A., & Cook, W.L. (2006). Dyadic data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Kiecolt-Glaser, J., & Newton, T.L. (2001). Marriage and Health: His and hers. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 472–503.Google Scholar
Korporaal, M., Broese van Groenou, M.I., & Van Tilburg, T.G. (2013). Health problems and marital satisfaction among older couples. Journal of Aging and Health, 25, 1279–1298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kristman, V., Manno, M., & Côté, P. (2004). Loss to follow-up in cohort studies: How much is too much? European Journal of Epidemiology, 19, 751–760.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Larzelere, R.E., & Huston, T.L. (1980). The Dyadic Trust Scale: Toward understanding interpersonal trust in close relationships. Journal of Marriage and Family, 42, 595–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, E., Barry, R.A., Brock, R.L., Bunde, M., Langer, A., Ro, E.,. . . Dzankovic, S. (2011). The Relationship Quality Interview: Evidence of reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and incremental utility. Psychological Assessment, 23, 44–63.Google Scholar
Lee, Y. (2000). The predictive value of self assessed general, physical, and mental health on functional decline and mortality in older adults. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 54, 123–129.Google Scholar
Lewis, M.A., McBride, C.M., Pollack, K.I., Puleo, E., Butterfield, R.M., & Emmons, K.M. (2006). Understanding health behavior change among couples: An interdependence and communal coping approach. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 1369–1380.Google Scholar
Markey, C.N., Markey, P.M., & Gray, H. (2007). Romantic relationships and health: An examination of individuals’ perceptions of their romantic partners’ influences on their health. Sex Roles, 57, 435–445.Google Scholar
Miller, R.B., Hollist, C.S., Olsen, J., & Law, D. (2013). Marital quality and health over 20 years: A growth curve analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 667–680.Google Scholar
Miller, N.B., & Kannae, L. (1999). Predicting marital quality in Ghana. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 30, 599–615.Google Scholar
Miilunpalo, S., Vuori, I., Oja, P., Pasanen, M., & Urponen, H. (1997). Self-rated health status as a health measure: The predictive value of self-reported health status on the use of physician services and on mortality in the working-age population. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 50, 517–528.Google Scholar
Population Reference Bureau. (2014) World population data sheet. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Geography on 9/7/2014Google Scholar
Proulx, C.M., Helms, H.M., & Buehler, C. (2007). Marital quality and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 576–593.Google Scholar
Rauer, A.J., Sabey, A.S., & Jensen, J.F. (2014). Growing old together: Compassionate love and health in older adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31, 677–696.Google Scholar
Robles, T.F. (2014). Marital Quality and Health Implications for Marriage in the 21st Century. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 427–432.Google Scholar
Rusbult, C.E., & Van Lange, P.A.M. (2003). Interdependence, interaction, relationships. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 351–375.Google Scholar
Sibanda, A., Woubalem, Z., Hogan, D.P., & Lindstrom, D.P. (2003). The proximate determinants of the decline to below-replacement fertility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Studies in Family Planning, 34 (1), 1–7 Google Scholar
Silverstein, M., Chen, X., & Heller, K. (1996). Too much of a good thing? Intergenerational social support and the psychological well-being of older parents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 970–982.Google Scholar
Spanier, G.B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and Family, 38, 15–28 Google Scholar
Spanier, G.B., & Lewis, R.A. (1980). Marital quality: A review of the seventies. Journal of Marriage and Family, 49, 797–809 Google Scholar
StataCorp. 2012. Stata Statistical Software: Release 13. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R.J. (1997). Construct validation of a triangular love scale. European Journal Of Social Psychology, 27, 313–335.Google Scholar
Steyn, A.F (1996). Values that support quality marital and family life. South African Journal of Sociology, 27, 143–147 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilson, D., & Larsen, U. (2000). Divorce in Ethiopia. The impact of early marriage and childlessness. Journal of Biosocial Science, 32, 355–372 Google Scholar
Tucker, J.S., & Mueller, J.S. (2000). Spouses’ social control of health behaviors: Use and effectiveness of specific strategies. Personality and Social Psychology, 26, 1120–1130.Google Scholar
Umberson, D. (1992). Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior. Social Science and Medicine, 34, 907–917.Google Scholar
Umberson, D., Williams, K., Powers, D.A., Liu, H., & Needham, B. (2006). You make me sick: Marital quality and health over the life course. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47, 1–16.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Human development report 2013. Retrieved 9 September, 2014, from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/ETH.pdf CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wanic, R., & Kulik, J. (2011). Toward an understanding of gender differences in the impact of marital conflict on health. Sex Roles, 65, 297–312.Google Scholar
Wilcox, B.W., & Nock, S.L. (2006). What's love got to do with it? Equality, equity, commitment and women's marital quality. Social Forces, 84, 1321–1345.Google Scholar
World Bank. (2014) Ethiopia overview. Retrieved July 9, 2014, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview Google Scholar