Vztah mezi ekonomickým tlakem na rodinu a nestabilitou manželstv

Vztah mezi ekonomickým tlakem na rodinu a nestabilitou manželství

Relation between family economic pressure and marital instability

Autors: Joseph Hraba, F. O. Lorenz, Zdeňka Pechačová

Abstrakt v češtině:

V důsledku transformačního procesu v České republice prožívají rodiny stres. Studie prokázala, že rodinné vztahy ovlivňují rozsah dopadu ekonomického tlaku na stabilitu rodiny. Výzkum probíhal v letech 1994-1996 (tři šetření); data byla získána od 740 domácností. Výpovědi manželů jsou zpracovány odděleně - počínaje ekonomickým tlakem na rodinu v roce 1994 a kulminujíce v nestabilitě manželských vztahů v roce 1996. Ekonomický tlak iritoval manželské páry v roce 1994, což se následně projevilo v problémovém chování a hostilitě vůči partnerovi v roce 1995 a to pouze u mužů. Nestabilita manželství u mužů byla v roce 1996 ovlivněna hostilitou jejich manželek a nestabilita manželství u žen souvisela s problematickým chováním jejich mužů.

Abstrakt v angličtině:

With three waves of data (1994-1996) from Czech households, we examined the mediating role of family interactions on the relation between 1994 family economic pressure and increased marital instability 19941996. The models demonstrated that economic pressure made both husbands and wives irritable, which they subsequently expressed in increased problem behaviors (e.g., drinking and fighting) and depression. I-husbands' problem behavior then predicted hostility toward their wives, which in turn increased wives' reports of changes in marital instability. Wives' irritability also increased their behavior problems, but behavior problems were unrelated to wives' hostility or husbands' marital instability. Instead, wives' irritability directly increased their hostility toward their husbands, which in turn, increased husbands' reports of changes in marital instability.

Klíčová slova:

stres rodiny, ekonomický tlak, iritabilita, problémy chování, deprese, hostilita partnera, nestabilita manželství

Keywords:

family stress, economic pressure, irritability, behaviour problems, depression, spouse hostility, merital instability

While reforms in the Czech Republic have brought democracy and economic liberalization to the country, they have also meant economic uncertainty for many and even hard times for some. Economic troubles have persisted for some Czech families since the start of the transformation, and these troubles can affect family life and, thus, become troublesome for all family members,(Conger & Elder, 1994; Coyne & Downey, 1991; Pearlin, 1989). From this family stress perspective, we ask if economic pressure on Czech families in 1994 leads to increased marital instability in 1996.

Research on family economic stress and its consequences began with studies during the Great Depression (e.g., Bakke, 1940). Subsequent study of California families during the Depression confirmed Bakke's observation that unemployment and income loss for an individual family member, especially husbands, often resulted in increased irritable and hostile behaviors. (Elder, 1974; Liker & Elder, 1983).

Family Stress Model For Czech Couples

The family stress model we test in Figure 1 begins with family economic pressure in 1994. Economic pressure is a family's appraisal of economic circumstances and it is often more important to a family's stress process than is their objective economic condition (e.g., Conger & Elder, 1994; Conger, Lorenz, Elder, Jr., Simons, & Ge, 1993). This draws from Lazarus and Folkman's (1984, p.19) formulation that ". . . psychological stress is a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as... endangering his or her well-being." In our model we hypothesize that family economic pressure increases spouses' irritability (21> 0). Irritability, in this case, is a psychological response to the frustrations of not having enough money and cutting back on family consumption (Elder, 1974; Liker & Elder, 1983).

In the United States, men have been shown to be especially sensitive to economic pressure, but we argue that both Czech wives and husbands face economic pressure and will become irritable. For 50 years Czech women have been employed outside the home and exposed to economic pressure as much as men (Hraba, Lorenz, Lee & Pechačová, 1996). We

allow that family economic pressure can also lead to both problem behavior (31> 0) and depression (41 > 0) in 1995 independent of irritability (Figure 1).

Our next hypothesis is that irritability felt by the spouse in 1994 will be manifested as overt hostility toward the respondent in 1995 (52 > 0). We add two additional pathways whereby irritability could lead to hostility. The first path is to behavioral problems (32 > 0), as when an irritable spouse turns to drinking, fighting, or other anti-social activities. Irritability could also be internalized as depressive symptoms (42 > 0) in 1995. In addition to the direct effect, increased irritability may indirectly increase hostile behavior of the spouse toward the respondent through these problem behaviors (53 > 0) and greater depression (54 > 0). In the United States, men under stress often act out with increased anti-social behavior, whereas women withdraw into depressive and anxious states. If this extends to men and women in the Czech Republic, then we would expect husbands to externalize their irritability as problem behavior and wives to internalize it as depression. So far, however, we have not found this gender difference in the Czech Republic (Hraba, et al., 1996).

Hostility of the spouse toward the respondent is hypothesized to increase the respondent's marital instability in 1996 (65> 0).

The hypothesized relationships are examined using three waves of data, a longitudinal design advised by Karney & Bradbury (1995), and tested net of the effects of initial marital

Figure 1. Theoretical Model of Economic Pressure Leading to Marital Instability for Czech Husbands and Wives, 1994-1996

instability, wives' and husbands' education, and family income in 1994. The model in Figure 1 is operationalized with close attention to time and reporter. Every effort is made to reduce method variance, a caution advised by Lorenz, Conger, Simons, Whitbeck & Elder, Jr. (1991) and Lorenz, Conger, Simons & Whitbeck (1995). To illustrate for the husbands' marital quality, they and their wives report family economic pressure at time 1, while the wives report their own irritability that same year. A wife's behavior problems and depressive symptoms are based on her reports a year later. Hostility toward spouse is based on the husband's reports of his wife's behavior also at time 2. His marital instability is separated from his report of wife's hostility by one year, as it was reported at time 3.

METHODS

Sample

A three-year panel of households in the 1994 Czech Republic was drawn from 4,000 households contacted periodically by the Czech Census Bureau Division of Family Budgets. Questionnaires were mailed to the 774 families in the winter of 1994 and 740 (96%) returned their questionnaires. The first wave includes 577 husbands and wives, 146 single female household heads, and 17 single male household heads. The second wave in 1995 includes 546 husbands and wives, 139 single female household heads, and 16 male household heads. The third wave in 1996 includes 525 husbands and wives, 128 single female household heads and 13 single male household heads. In all waves, married couples filled out separate questionnaires and were asked not to consult each other in the process.

Our summary distributions of education and income correspond with Czech Census Bureau population estimates. Our panel has fewer members who attained an elementary education (3% vs. 10%), more with vocational degrees (40% vs. 35%), fewer with secondary education (32% vs. 37%), and more with college education or higher (24% vs. 18%). The 1989 unweighted average salary of 43,710 crowns for our sample compares with the annual gross salary of 41,750 in 1988 reported for men in the 1989 Czech microcensus (Večerník, 1995).

Measures

Years of marriage, family education and family income. The length of marriage is based on wives' reports in 1994. These reports correlated highly with husbands' reports (0.98) and also with wife and husband's age. Education of husbands and wives is coded in years of formal education. Family income is the average of husbands' and wives' reports in 1994 of household

income in 1993. These variables along with marital instability in 1994 are entered as controls in our family stress model.

Family economic pressure. This is a latent variable and the sum of husbands' and wives' reports of economic stress on their families in 1994. Its three components - having financial problems, experiencing economic strain, and making economic adjustments - are derived from Elder, Robertson & Ardelt 1994).

Irritability. Husbands and wives responded to six questions in 1994 adapted from Derogatis (1983) about being irritable during the past week.

Behavior problems. Husbands and wives responded to six questions in 1995 about having behavioral problems during the past year. The questions are getting into fights that led to punching or hitting, traffic violations (moving), arrested for more than a traffic violation, getting help from a therapist, not telling one's spouse the truth, and being concerned about wagering too much.

Depression. Depression is a latent variable and the sum of two indicators of depressive symptoms and emotional-well being. Wives and husbands answered 13 questions derived from Derogatis' (1983) SCL-90 in 1995 about being depressed. The questions are about loss of sexual interest, low energy, suicidal thoughts, crying easily, feeling trapped, self blame, feeling lonely, blue, no interest, worrying too much, feeling hopeless, feeling everything is an effort and feeling worthless, with five response categories from not at all to extremely for each.

Spouse hostility toward respondent. This is measured by asking the respondents about their spouse's hostility toward them. Respondents were asked in 1995 how often in the past month when spending time with each other did their spouses get 1) angry, 2) criticize, 3) shout at, 4) argue with, and 5) push or shove them.

Marital instability. Self reports of marital instability were asked of wives and husbands in 1994 and 1996 derived from Booth, Johnson and Edwards (1983). They responded both years to the same five questions, with the same response categories from not in the last year (1) to the past three months (4). The questions are the spouses seriously suggested a divorce, discussed marital separation with a close friend, thought their marriage was in trouble, talked with spouse about consulting an attorney about a possible divorce, and the thought of divorce/separation having crossed their minds.

Analysis strategy

After completing preliminary analyses, the family stress model shown in Figure 1 was estimated using structural equations with latent variables (Bollen, 1989). Structural equation modeling (SEM) is particularly appropriate for estimating multiple equations simultaneously, especially when multiple indicators of concepts permit correcting coefficients for attenuation.

The strategy we used in modeling the data was to examine more and less restrictive alternatives to the theoretical model in Figure 1. Our goal was to select the most parsimonious alternative to the fully recursive model that still reproduces the covariance matrix reasonably well. In addition to estimating factor loadings and path coefficients, LISREL VIII (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1996) estimates total and indirect effects and their standard errors. The direct paths are estimated for the fully recursive model. The final results are based on list-wise deletion of missing cases.

RESULTS

For the model predicting husbands' marital instability, family economic pressure is positively related to their wives' irritability in 1994 (0.24; t=3.64). Wives' irritability is related to years of marriage (-0.12; t=-2.20) in 1994 and husbands' reports of his initial level of marital instability (0.23; t=3.89). Education and family income are not related to the wives' irritability, similar to results in the United States (Conger & Elder, 1994). Wives' irritability in 1994 results in more behavior problems in 1995 net of controls (0.53; t=5.68). Wives' problem behavior is also related to the husbands' reports of marital instability in 1994 (0.18; t=2.22). Wives' depression in 1995 is related to their irritability in 1994 (0.58; t=9.80). Their depression is also related to years of marriage (0.11; t = 2.32) and husbands' education (-0.11; t = -.2.16). Family economic pressure in 1994 is not a direct predictor of either wives' problem behavior or depression in 1995 when their irritability is in the model. Family economic pressure has, however, significant indirect effects on wives' problem behavior (0.12; t=3.04) and depression (0.14; t=3.40) in 1995. Family economic pressure in 1994 indirectly affects wives' problem behavior and depression in 1995 through their irritability in 1994.

Wives' hostility toward their husbands, as reported by husbands in 1995, is not related to either wives' problem behavior (0.17) or depression (0.04), contrary to our hypothesis. Wives' hostility toward their husbands is, however, related to their being irritable the preceding year (0.28; t=2.75) as well as to their husbands' reports of marital instability in 1994 (0.21; t=3.34)). Family economic pressure in 1994 has a nearly significant indirect effect on wives' hostility in 1995 (0.07; t=1.92), as does husbands' reports of marital instability. According to our causal model, wives' hostility in 1995 does result from their irritability in 1994, but that hostility is unrelated to their problem behavior and depression in 1995.

Husbands' marital instability in 1996 is related to their reports of their wives' hostility toward them in 1995 (0.33; t=3.45). It is also positively related to husbands' marital instability in 1994 (0.52; t=5.86) and negatively related to years of marriage (-0.20; t=-2.70). Family economic pressure in 1994 has a significant indirect effect in the predicted direction (0.08; t=1.93) on husbands' marital instability in 1996. Family economic pressure in 1994 began a

family stress process that increased husbands' marital instability in 1996. Economic pressure makes wives irritable, which in turn was reflected in increased hostility in 1995 toward the husbands. Wives' hostility toward husbands is directly related to the husbands' marital instability in 1996. Family economic pressure in 1994 has only indirect effects on husbands' marital instability. Their wives' problem behavior and depression in 1995 appear to play no role in the husbands' marital instability in 1996, although the wives expressed their 1994 instability in both problem behavior and depression in 1995.

Results for the wives are much like those for the husbands. Family economic pressure is related to their husbands' irritability in 1994 (0.18; t=2.62). Among the controls, only wives' marital instability (0.25; t=4.29) is related to husbands' irritability, income is not. Husbands' irritability in 1994 is expressed in 1995 in both their problem behavior (0.62; t=6.72) and depression (0.48;t=7.06). Unlike the wives, years married is negatively related to husbands' problem behavior (-0.19; t=-2.76). Younger men appear to act out and older men to internalize irritability in response to family economic pressure. In addition, husbands' problem behavior is indirectly related to family economic pressure in 1994 (0.11), as it was for wives, but unlike the wives, their depression in 1995 is directly (0.19; t = 2.93) as well as indirectly (0.08; t = 2.47) related to family economic pressure in 1994. Family economic pressure appears to have a stronger and direct impact on the husbands' depression.

What makes husbands hostile toward their wives? Their hostility in 1995 is related to their problem behavior that same year (0.66; t=2.17) but it is not directly related to their irritability in 1994. Husbands' irritability has only an indirect effect on husbands' hostility through problem behavior. Irritable husbands in 1994 who combine their irritability with problem behavior in 1995 are hostile at home in 1995. This is a different pattern than we observed for the wives, who were hostile only because of their irritability. Irritable husbands in 1994 are also depressed in 1995, but only the husbands who act-out in problem behavior are also hostile toward their wives. For both husbands and wives depression is not related to hostility toward their spouses.

Wives' increased marital instability in 1996 is related to their husbands' hostility in 1995 (0.25; t =2.09), the same pattern we observed for the husbands' marital instability.

Unlike the case for husbands, however, wives' marital instability in 1996 is also indirectly related to their husbands' irritability in 1994 and problem behavior in 1995. It seems that wives report marital instability once their husbands become irritable in 1994 due to economic pressure, and then manifest problem behavior and become hostile in 1995. Husbands react only after their wives become hostile. Having a depressed spouse has no bearing on either wives or husbands reporting martial instability in 1996.

DISCUSSION

Is there evidence that economic pressure observed during the Czech transformation began a family stress process that led to both husbands' and wives' increased marital instability? First, family economic pressure in 1994 was indeed positively associated with irritability among husbands and wives. Wives as much as their husbands became irritable and their level of irritability matched their husbands'.

Both husbands and wives associated their spouses' irritability in 1994 with spouses' problem behavior and depression in 1995 net of controls. Wives and husbands externalized and internalized their irritability due to family economic pressure. This may be inconsistent with gender comparisons in the United States, but it is parallel to previous research with earlier data in the Czech Republic (Hraba, et al., 1996). Gender roles converged during socialism, as noted above, perhaps accounting for gender convergence in not only source of stress but also expression of distress as both external and internal symptoms. Furthermore, family economic pressure in 1994 had indirect effects on wives' and husbands' problem behavior and depression in 1995. The one gender difference is that family economic pressure in 1994 had also a direct effect on husbands' depression in 1995. Men more than women may interpret economic pressure as a failing and be depressed by it for a longer period and without also becoming irritable (Lee, Hraba, Lorenz & Pechačová, 1994).

Spousal hostility in 1995 was directly related to both husbands' and wives' increased marital instability in 1996. Their husbands' irritability in 1994 and problem behavior in 1995 also indirectly affected wives' marital instability. Husbands' marital instability in 1996 was due directly to having a hostile wife in 1995 but without the above indirect effects. Having a depressed spouse in 1995 did not affect husbands' and wives' marital instability in 1996.

Family economic pressure rather than objective economic states started the family stress process, but economic pressure did not directly affect marital instability. Rather, family economic pressure in 1994 affected other variables in our family stress model and those variables affected, in turn, marital instability in 1996. Husbands' increased marital instability was affected by their wives' hostility toward them in 1995. Wives' hostility in 1995 followed from their irritability in 1994 and that irritability was associated with family economic pressure. The process was more complicated for wives' marital instability. Not only did their husbands' hostility directly affect their increased marital instability, but also their husbands' problem behavior in 1995 and irritability in 1994 had indirect effects on the wives' marital instability in 1996. Having depressed spouses had no bearing on husbands' and wives' increased marital instability. Our results suggest that irritability, problem behavior on the part of husbands, and hostility toward a spouse are major mediators in the family stress process for these families.

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