Intimacy and autonomy in long term marriage

Marital literature has identified partner intimacy and autonomy as importan t determinants of marital satisfaction. However, little is known about how the balance of intimacy and autonomy affects the success of long term marri ages among older couples. The author surveyed 88 men and 92 women in long t erm stable marriages to examine the effects of partner intimacy and autonom y on marital satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses revealed that intim acy was positively related, and hostile control was negatively related to m arital satisfaction. Older respondents rated their partners higher in intim acy than middle aged respondents, and husbands were rated higher in providi ng autonomy than were wives. Intimacy and avoidance of hostile control were more important than autonomy to long term married couples. Social workers can draw upon a number of approaches to marital therapy that enhance couple intimacy.