SWEET-PEA AND PUSSY-CAT - AN EXAMINATION OF IDIOM USE AND MARITAL SATISFACTION OVER THE LIFE-CYCLE

One hundred and fifty-four couples participated in this study to asses s the relationship between their recalled use of idiosyncratic communi cation and marital satisfaction over the life cycle. Couples ranged fr om newly married' to 'married over 50 years'. Each couple was given th e satisfaction sub-scale of Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment scale and were asked to recall idioms they use within their marriage. The hypothesis that satisfied husbands and wives report more idioms than unsatisfied spouses was supported. Results also suggest that spouses' use of idio ms declines over the life cycle. Couples married less than five years with no children reported using the most idioms; couples in later stag es recalled using the fewest number of idioms. The notion that idioms are developed and used in the early stages of relationships was suppor ted by these findings.