MASCULINITY, FEMININITY, AND MARITAL SATISFACTION - AN EXAMINATION OFTHEORETICAL-MODELS

This study sought to investigate the relationship between masculinity, femininity, and marital satisfaction. A number of polynomial multiple regression analyses were performed in an effort to determine the vali dity of six theoretical models linking sex roles to martial satisfacti on. These are the femininity model, masculinity model, sex-type model, additive androgynous model, interactive androgynous model, and curvil inear model. The sample was composed of 117 couples who completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (Bem, 1974) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (sp anier, 1976). For men, the results showed that martial satisfaction wa s related to (a) their self-described levels of femininity and masculi nity, (b) the level of self-decribed femininity of their wives, and (c ) the presence of feminine qualities as well as a limited optimal leve l of masculine qualities which they perceived in their wives. For wome n, martial satisfaction was associated with (a) the number of self-des cribed feminine qualities and (b) the level of masculinity, as well as an optimal level of femininity, which they perceived in their husband s. Furthermore, small actual-ideal discrepancies in levels of masculin ity and femininity ascribed to partners constituted reliable predictor s of martial satisfaction for both men and women.