Change in job and marital experiences and change in psychological distress: a longitudinal study of dual-earner couples.

Are changes in job quality more closely linked to changes in distress for men than for women? Conversely, are changes in marital quality more closely linked to changes in distress for women than for men? These questions were addressed in a longitudinal analysis of a random sample of 210 full-time employed dual-earner couples. Change over time in job role quality was significantly associated with change over time in distress, and the magnitude of the relationship differed little, if at all, by gender. In contrast, change over time in marital role quality was also associated with change in distress, but the magnitude of the association depended on gender. Among full-time employed married women, change in marital experience was more closely linked to change in distress than among their husbands.