Marital relations in late adulthood, throughout the retirement process

Abstract

The study investigated marital relations among a sample of 569 Israeli participants at three stages of late adulthood: remote pre-retirement (seven to ten years prior to retirement), near-retirement (up to two years prior to retirement), and post-retirement (up to two years after retirement). The following variables were examined: spousal resources, marital power relations, quality of marriage, and division of household tasks. The study attempted to determine whether there were differences in marital relations during the three life stages, and whether those differences were evident for men and women. The findings reveal that for both men and women, marital relations were more intensive in remote pre-retirement than in the two subsequent stages. In addition, division of feminine household tasks was found to be more egalitarian at later stages of marital life. However, similarities were revealed in most aspects of power relations as well as in spousal resources and performance of masculine household tasks during the three life stages examined. Several gender-based differences were also noted in all three stages. Specifically, the men tended to report an advantage in financial and social resources, as well as in emotional hardiness. With respect to power relations, the men also showed a greater tendency to make major decisions, whereas the women tended to make minor decisions and contributed more toward strengthening the family.