The effects of developmental transitions and level of object relations: Implications for marital adjustment.
Item
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Title
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The effects of developmental transitions and level of object relations: Implications for marital adjustment.
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Identifier
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AAI9020760
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identifier
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9020760
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Creator
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Greenfield, Janet Merrill.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Laurence Gould
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical | Psychology, Developmental
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Abstract
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While there has been inquiry into adult developmental pathways, the family life cycle, marital satisfaction, and object relations within marriage, the integration of these factors is strikingly absent from the existing literature. This study addressed how maturational forces combine with the individual's internal representational world to impact upon perception of marital satisfaction.;The study examined three variables: the individual's degree of developmental transition, level of object relations, and the subjective perception of marital adjustment. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) Level of object relations will be positively correlated with marital adjustment/satisfaction. (2) Developmental transitions will not be correlated with marital adjustment/satisfaction. (3) There will be an interaction between level of object relations and developmental transitions such that participants with high object relations and low developmental transition scores will manifest the highest adjustment/satisfaction scores, followed in order by those with high object relations and transition scores, those with low object relations and low transition scores, and those with low object relations and high transition scores. All pairwise differences among these groups were predicted to be significant, with the greatest difference occurring between the adjacent groups with the two lowest difference adjustment/satisfaction scores.;Ninety-eight married women between the ages of 27 and 35 participated in the study, 65 with children and 33 without. All completed four paper-and-pencil measures to test the above dimensions.;The data confirmed the first hypothesis, finding moderate positive relationships between the object relations and marital satisfaction measures. The second hypothesis was refuted, as a weak to moderate negative relationship was found between level of developmental transitions and marital adjustment. There were mixed findings regarding the interaction between level of object relations and marital adjustment: an interaction was found when the researcher developed Developmental Concerns Questionnaire was taken as the measure of transition, however no interaction was present when the Family Inventory of Life Events was substituted, suggesting the different domains tapped by the two measures.;The findings suggest the importance of understanding adult experience as far from static and should encourage future research to tease apart the varied, complex aspects of the adult developmental process.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
