Remarriage Beliefs as Predictors of Marital Quality and Positive Interaction in Stepcouples: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

• Published date: 01 December 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12153
• Author: Chelsea L. Garneau,Brian Higginbotham,Francesca Adler‐Baeder
• Date: 01 December 2015

Remarriage Beliefs as Predictors of Marital Quality

and Positive Interaction in Stepcouples: An Actor–

Partner Interdependence Model

CHELSEA L. GARNEAU*

BRIAN HIGGINBOTHAM

†

FRANCESCA ADLER-BAEDER

‡

To read this article in Spanish, please see the article’s Supporting Information on Wiley Online

Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/famp).

Using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Model, we examined remarriage beliefs as pre-

dictors of marital quality and positive interaction in a sample of 179 stepcouples. Three

beliefs were measured using subscales from the Remarriage Belief Inventory (RMBI)

including success is slim,children are the priority, and finances should be pooled. Several

significant actor and partner effects were found for both wives’ and husbands’ beliefs.

Wives’ marital quality was positively associated with their own beliefs that finances should

be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that success is slim. Wives’

reports of their own and spouses’ positive interaction were both positively associated with

their beliefs that finances should be pooled. Their reports of spouses’ positive interaction

were also negatively associated with husbands’ beliefs that success is slim. Husbands’ mar-

ital quality was positively associated with wives’ beliefs that children are the priority, posi-

tively associated with their own beliefs that finances should be pooled, and negatively with

success is slim. Positive interaction for husbands was positively associated with wives’

beliefs that finances should be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that

success is slim. Finally, husbands’ reports of positive interaction for their spouses were pos-

itively associated with wives’ beliefs that finances should be pooled. Implications for future

research utilizing dyadic data analysis with stepcouples are addressed.

Keywords: Dyadic data analysis; Stepfamilies; Remarriage; Marital quality

Fam Proc 54:730–745, 2015

Marital quality and interaction represent two fundamental domains of marriage

(Bradbury, 1995). Previous studies have found general relationship beliefs in

marriages to be associated with both marital quality and interaction. Overall, those who

endorse more unrealistic basic relationship beliefs report poorer marital adjustment and

quality (Mo

¨ller & Van Zyl, 1991). Faulty relationship beliefs have also been positively

associated with greater reports of spouses’ negative interaction (Bradbury & Fincham,

1993).

In addition to general relationship beliefs, cognitions regarding remarriage may be

associated with marital quality and interactions in higher order unions (Fine & Kurdek,

1994; Higginbotham & Adler-Baeder, 2008; Shapiro, 2014). The endorsement of dysfunc-

*Department of Human Development & Family Studies, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

†

Department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development, Utah State University, Logan, UT.

‡

Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Auburn University, Auburn, AL.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Chelsea L. Garneau, 312 Gentry Hall,

Columbia, MO 65211. E-mail: garneauc@missouri.edu.

730

Family Process, Vol. 54, No. 4, 2015 ©2015 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12153

tional beliefs and unrealistic expectations have long been purported to negatively impact

remarriage and stepfamily relationships (see Coleman & Ganong, 1985, 1990; Walsh,

1992). These assertions have not abated over the years and are widely accepted (i.e., Clax-

ton-Oldfield, 2008; Deal & Olson, 2010), which has led to calls for empirical research to

document pathways and processes by which cognitions may be associated with couple rela-

tionships in remarriages (Garneau, Adler-Baeder, & Higginbotham, 2013).

In light of the prevalence and dissolution of higher order unions, many in the field of

family science have called for more research on factors associated with remarital quality

(e.g., Coleman, Ganong, & Fine, 2000; Sweeney, 2010). However, as empirical research on

remarriages has grown, the emphasis has been on behaviors (Halford, Nicholson, & Sand-

ers, 2007; Wilder, 2012), on individuals within remarriages (Skinner, Bahr, Crane, & Call,

2002; Stanley, Markman, & Whitton, 2002), or has examined outcomes for couples sepa-

rately for husbands and wives (Bouchard, 2006). Research on remarriage-related cogni-

tions has lagged behind (Ganong & Coleman, 2004; Higginbotham & Adler-Baeder, 2008;

Higginbotham & Agee, 2013), and associations between partners’ cognitions remain

under-studied. Coleman and Ganong first identified this gap in the literature in their

1990 decade review and noted that cognitive variables in remarriages “have been only

superficially investigated in children and ignored in adults” (p. 936). In 2000, Coleman

and colleagues once again called for more research on cognitive variables.

Recently, several steps have been taken to advance investigations of cognitive-behavioral

processes in remarriages. Initial work was done to validate the Remarriage Belief Inventory

(RMBI)—a measure for stepfamily-specific beliefs for individuals (Higginbotham & Adler-

Baeder, 2005) and to assess the relationships between these beliefs and an individual’s

assessment of marital quality (Higginbotham & Adler-Baeder, 2008; Higginbotham & Agee,

2013). Most recently, the RMBI has been validated for use with stepcouple dyads (Garneau

et al., 2013). An important next step is the examination of actor–partner effects of remar-

riage beliefs in a sample of stepfamily couples. Thus, the current study utilizes an Actor–

Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Cook & Kenny, 2005) to evaluate three remarriage

beliefs (i.e., success is slim,children are the priority,andfinances should be pooled)asfac-

tors related to marital quality and positive interaction in a sample of stepcouples. Although

previous findings in samples of individuals suggest that beliefs about finances and children

may be more strongly associated with wives’ marital quality and pessimistic beliefs about

relationship success may be more important for husbands’ (Higginbotham & Adler-Baeder,

2008; Higginbotham & Agee, 2013), the current study examines whether a similar pattern

emerges for the association between partners’ beliefs and outcomes.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

According to cognitive-behavioral theory, one’s beliefs have a direct influence on his/her

behaviors (Bandura, 1986). Cognitive aspects of relationships, such as expectations and

standards endorsed by individuals, are predictors of marital adjustment (Baucom et al.,

1996). In addition, holding incorrect or unrealistic assumptions about one’s relation ship in

particular has been associated with lower relationship satisfaction (Kurdek, 1992). Consis-

tent with family systems theory (Minuchin, 1974), it is also expected that individuals in

families are influenced by the beliefs and behaviors of all other family members. Thus, in

marital relationships, husbands’ and wives’ behaviors and outcomes are expected to be

influenced not only by their own beliefs and expectations but also by the beliefs and expec-

tations of their spouse.

Fine and Kurdek (1994) explicated a multidimensional cognitive-developmental model

of stepfamily adjustment, which combined these concepts from cognitive-behavioral and

family systems theories. They posited that behaviors in stepfamilies are influenced by the

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