Research Papers

Research papers written by awardees exploring innovative measures that will help to answer new research questions on married and cohabiting relationships.
Measures of Cohabitation: A Binary Variable Problem?
Sarah Halpern-Meekin, and Laura Tach, Co-PIs
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Human Development & Family Studies
Cornell University, College of Human Ecology
Publications
  • Halpern-Meekin, S., & Tach, L. (2013). "Discordance in Couples’ Reporting of Courtship Stages: Implications for Measurement and Marital Quality." Social Science Research, 42:(4) 1143-1155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2013.01.009
  • Halpern-Meekin, S., & Tach, L. (2014). "Why They Cohabit: Couples' Reasons for Cohabitation and Relationship Quality." Presented at the Population Association of America (PAA) annual meeting, May 1, 2014.
Working Papers
  • "Couple Disagreement in Reporting on Courtship Stages: Implications for Measurement and Marital Outcomes"
Factors Affecting Adults’ Knowledge of their Partner’s Medical Treatment Preferences
Sara M. Moorman and Deborah Carr, Co-PIs
Boston College, Department of Sociology and Institute on Aging 
Rutgers University, Department of Sociology
Publications
  • WP-12-05
    • Inoue, M., & Moorman, S. M. (2014). "Does End-of-Life Planning Help Partners Become Better Surrogates?" The Gerontologist 55(6). doi: 10.1093/geront/gnu031
    • Moorman, S. M., & Inoue, M. (2014). "Persistent Problems in End-of-Life Planning Among Young- and Middle-Aged American Couples." The Journals of Gerontology, Series B, 68(1): 97-106. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbs103
  • WP-12-03
    • Moorman, S. M., & Carr, D., & Boerner, K. (2014). "The Role of Relationship Biography in Advance Care Planning." Journal of Aging and Health, 26(6). https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264314534895
    • Moorman, S. M., & Inoui, M. (2013). "Predicting a Partner's End-of-Life Preferences, or Substituting One's Own?" Journal of Marriage and Family, 75(3): 734-745. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12030
  • WP-12-01
    • Carr, D. (2014). "The Role of Relationship Biography in Advance Care Planning." Journal of Aging and Health. doi:10.1177/0898264314534895
    • Carr, D. (2012). "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Advance Care Planning: Identifying Subgroup Patterns and Obstacles." Journal of Aging and Health, 24(6) 923-947. doi:10.1177/0898264312449185
Working Papers
  • WP-12-05
    • "Romantic Relationship Quality and Knowledge of Partner's End-of-Life Preferences"
  • WP-12-03
    • "Age, Self-Reported Health, and End-of-Life Planning among Young and Middle-Aged American Couples"
  • WP-12-01
    • "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Advance Care Planning: Identifying Subgroup Patterns and Obstacles"
Proposal to Administer the Marital Disillusionment Scale in the Knowledge Networks Panel Survey
Sylvia Niehuis and Alan Reifman, Co-PIs 
Texas Tech University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Publication
  • Niehuis, S., Reifman, A., & Lee, K-H. (2015). "Disillusionment in Cohabiting and Married Couples: A National Study."  Journal of Family Issues, 36(7): 951-973. doi: 10.1177/0192513X13498594
Working Paper
  • WP-13-05
    • "Disillusionment in Cohabiting and Married Couples: A National Study"
Gender, Beliefs about Spouses' Work-Family Conflict, and Relationship Quality
  • More than half of couples (55.9% of husbands and 55.0% of wives) are inaccurate in their estimates of their spouses’ work-family conflict.
  • Husbands are significantly more likely to overestimate, than underestimate, wives’ work-family conflict.
    • This result is consistent with gendered cultural scripts that employed women “should” be feeling high work-family conflict.
  • There are few differences in whether wives overestimate or underestimate husbands’ work-family conflict.
    • This result does not support the prediction that wives would be more likely to underestimate, than overestimate, husbands’ work-family conflict due to gendered cultural scripts that employed men “should” not have much work-family conflict.
  • Husbands’ overestimating wives’ work-family conflict is related to husbands’ perceptions of better relationship quality.
  • Wives’ underestimating husband’s conflict is related to both spouses’ perceptions of poorer relationship quality.
Kei Nomaguchi and Melissa Milkie, Co-PIs
Bowling Green State University, Department of Sociology
University of Maryland, Department of Sociology
Publication
  • Nomaguchi, K., & Milkie, M. (2014). "Gender, Accuracy About Partners' Work-Family Conflict, and Relationship Quality." In: Mills M. (eds). Gender and the Work-Family Experience, 159-176. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-08891-4_9
Working Paper
  • WP-11-04
    • "Gender Beliefs about Spouse's Work-Family Conflict, and Relationship Quality"
Additional Publications by Scholars Who Used the Data
  • Brown, S. L., Manning, W. D., & Payne, K. K. (2017). "Relationship Quality Among Cohabiting Versus Married Couples." Journal of Family Issues, 38, 1730-1753. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X15622236
  • Vennum, A., Lindstrom, R., Monk, J. K., & Adams, R. (2014). "It’s Complicated": The Continuity and Correlates of Cycling in Cohabiting and Marital Relationships." Journal of Social and Personal Relationships https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407513501987
  • Yucel, D. (2018). The Dyadic Nature of Relationships: Relationship Satisfaction Among Married and Cohabiting Couples. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 13(1), 37-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-017-9505-z
Additional Presentations by Scholars Who Used the Data
  • Brigman, Davis Knox. (2013). "Income Partially Mediates the Health Disparities of Cohabiting and Married Couples." Thesis, State University of New York at Binghamton.
  • Burgoyne, S. (2012). "Relationship Quality Among Married and Cohabiting Couples." Family Profiles, FP-12- 12. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage. https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-12-12.pdf
  • Kang, Hyunsock. (2013). "Married or cohabiting?" Annual Meeting of the SSSA. New Orleans, LA.
  • McClain, L. & Gulbis, A. (2017). "Disillusionment and Perceived Likelihood of Break-up Among Married and Cohabiting Couples: The Role of Children." Poster format at the annual meetings of the Population Associate of America. Chicago, IL (April); Annual meetings of the Anthropologists and Sociologists of Kentucky, Bowling Green, KY.
  • Nerison, M. I. (2014). "Factors that Impact Couples' Discussions of Advanced Directive Contents." Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers. Paper 366. http://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/366
  • Palmo, Nina. (2013). "Searching for the Roots of Family Instability: How Do Institutions Influence Relationship Formation and Quality?" Population Association of American 2013 Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA.

Updated: 10/25/2023 02:33PM