Is marital quality declining? The evidence from two generations

We investigated the possibility that changes in the economie and social context of marriage have lowered marital quality in recent marriages. We used data from a national probability sample of two generations representing individuals married between 1969-1980 and between 1981-1992. Compared with the older group, the younger group (both men and women) reported signntly lower levels of marital interaction and significantly higher levels of marital conflict and problems. Increases in age at first marriage and education between generations did not offset these declines. Changes in economie resources, work and family demands, wives ' gender role attitudes, and cohabitation prior to marriage accounted for these changes. Following a period of stable divorce rates during the post World War II period and the 1950s, the divorce rate began to increase during the early 1960s. It doubled between 1966 and 1976, then leveled off during the 1980s at a historically high level. Currently, about one-half of all first marriages are expected to end in divorce (Cherlin 1992). The increased rate of divorc