Domains of Satisfaction
In order to gather information concerning the marital satisfaction of couples, each spouse completed questionnaires pertaining to their satisfaction with certain aspects of their marriage. This is another instance in which qualitative data is gathered to enhance the understanding of quantitative data. Spouses were also instructed to rate their satisfaction using a nine-point scale ranging from very dissatisfied (1), to very satisfied (9), concerning the following eight aspects of their marriage: own leisure time; division of household work; communication; amount of influence; sexual relationship; time with spouse; time with network; and finances. At Phase 2, respondents rated their current satisfaction and also gave a retrospective rating of their satisfaction as newlyweds, while at Phase 3 they simply rated their current satisfaction. Additionally, after providing their numerical rating of satisfaction, respondents were asked to explain why they gave the ratings they did, and why the ratings they provided weren't higher (if they were toward the high end) or lower (if they were toward the low end).
