MARITAL SATISFACTION AND CONVENTIONALIZATION EXAMINED DYADICALLY

Edmonds (1967) developed the Marital Conventionalization Scale to meas ure an apparent social desirability bias in marital quality measuremen t at the individual level. The original conceptualization of marital c onventionalization has not been supported by subsequent research and c onventionalization appears to represent another aspect of marital qual ity. This study investigated whether marital satisfaction and conventi onalization are best conceptualized at the individual or couple level. A series of analyses suggest that these constructs must be interprete d as dyadic variables rather than simply as individual perceptions of marriage. Husbands and wives tend to report similar levers of marital satisfaction and conventionalization, especially among dissatisfied co uples and couples with a high level of satisfaction.