Marital Instability Over the Lifecourse

DESCRIPTION: The Marital Instability Over the Life Course series is a nationwide longitudinal study that was designed to examine the causes of marital instability throughout the life course. Six waves of data were collected between 1980 and 2000 from married individuals who were between the ages of 18 and 55 in 1980. The study was funded by the Social Security Administration's Office of Research and Statistics, and the National Institute on Aging. Measures were developed to predict marital instability and divorce and to assess marital quality. Data are furnished on female labor force participation and life course perspective and the effects on marriage and marital instability. Initially, the investigators gave considerable attention to female labor force participation as it relates to marital dissolution and divorce proneness (Wave 1). However, the investigators drew heavily on a life course perspective to guide their investigation subsequently. Because the goal of the study was to investigate the role of a wide variety of factors that may affect divorce, questions and scales were designed to cover numerous topics. The investigators were interested in directly linking changes in a range of independent variables such as economic resources, wife's employment, presence of children, marital satisfaction, life goals, and health, to divorce, permanent separation, and other actions intended to dissolve a marriage (Wave II). Wave III further examined the impact of changes in employment, economics, and health on marital relationships. A fourth wave of data was collected in 1992 to further look at changes in employment, economics, and health. Wave 5, collected in 1997, examined the relationship between marital quality and stability and changes in marital quality later in life. Collected in 2000, the sixth wave included an expanded health measures section as well as a new cross section which will facilitate tracking of changes over the last 20 years.

CODEBOOKS: Codebooks are available for download in pdf format on the local area network (\Public\Data\Marital Instability Over the Life Course), and through the ICPSR website. Once you log in, codebooks and data are available under Downloads.

DATA: Data are available for all waves through the ICPSR website. Data for all six waves have been combined into one raw data file (called Data under Downloads). Data definition statements are available for SAS and SPSS.

LIST OF FREQUENCIES : Frequencies are available for all variables and waves in each codebook.

WEBLINKS: http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/03812.xml