TY - JOUR
T1 - For better or for worse
T2 - the moderating effects of personality on the marriage-life satisfaction link
AU - Boyce, Christopher J.
AU - Wood, Alex M.
AU - Ferguson, Eamonn
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016.
PY - 2016/3/19
Y1 - 2016/3/19
N2 - On average, marriage tends to lead to temporary increases in life satisfaction, which quickly return to pre-marital levels. This general pattern, however, does not consider the personality of individuals entering into marriage. We examine whether following marriage pre-marital personality predicts different changes to life satisfaction in a sample of initially single German adults (N = 2015), completing life satisfaction measures and indicating their marital status yearly for 8 years (during which 468 married). We find that conscientious women experience greater life satisfaction following marriage than less conscientious women. Our data also indicate that introverted women and extraverted men experience longer-term life satisfaction benefits following marriage. Our results refute the claim of limited life satisfaction effects from marriage and caution against relying on average effects when examining the influence of life events on well-being.
AB - On average, marriage tends to lead to temporary increases in life satisfaction, which quickly return to pre-marital levels. This general pattern, however, does not consider the personality of individuals entering into marriage. We examine whether following marriage pre-marital personality predicts different changes to life satisfaction in a sample of initially single German adults (N = 2015), completing life satisfaction measures and indicating their marital status yearly for 8 years (during which 468 married). We find that conscientious women experience greater life satisfaction following marriage than less conscientious women. Our data also indicate that introverted women and extraverted men experience longer-term life satisfaction benefits following marriage. Our results refute the claim of limited life satisfaction effects from marriage and caution against relying on average effects when examining the influence of life events on well-being.
KW - Adaptation
KW - Life satisfaction
KW - Marriage
KW - Personality
KW - Subjective well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84961180779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.005
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84961180779
SN - 0191-8869
VL - 97
SP - 61
EP - 66
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
IS - July
ER -