"Is his marriage also her marriage?" - An old question in a new light

A total of 204 "normal" and 31 couples undergoing psychotherapy completed a questionnaire on their relationship. The hypotheses (already tested in 199 4 in another sample) on gender differences (well-being, satisfaction with t he relationship, partner's empathy) were seriously called into question aga in. Differences between marriage partners where often overestimated; congru ence in well-being and agreement in happiness and satisfaction are the more frequent phenomena, at least in non-clinical samples. Most differences are more couple-specific than gender-specific. Nevertheless, "his marriage" is not the same as "her marriage": There might be differences which, although difficult to demonstrate, are emotionally important.