Sex-role attitude-behavior congruence and stressful life events as predictors of dyadic adjustment in black marriages

The primary goal of this investigation was to evaluate whether congruence between Black spouses' sex-role attitudes and their conjugal role behaviors functioned to moderate the adverse effects of stressful events on these spouses' dyadic/marital adjustment. The following variables were also examined to assess which would be most predictive of the spouses' dyadic adjustment, and in order to examine expected associations among them: attitude-behavior congruence; stressful events; sex-role attitudes; role behaviors; social class (SES); number of income earners in the family; and gender. 66 Black couples (132 subjects) residing in the Southeast were administered self-report questionaires.

Utilizing hierarchical and stepwise multiple regression analyses to explore the main hypotheses of the study, the results revealed that attitude-behavior congruence had only a neglibible effect on these spouses' dyadic adjustment, either alone or interacting with stressful events. Thus, the proposed stress-buffering role of congruence was not supported by these data. Attitude-behavior incongruence was the predominant finding on the congruence measure. The best predictors of these spouses' dyadic adjustment were traditional attitudes regarding male and female roles and behaviors as well as egalitarian, or shared/flexible conjugal role behaviors.

The spouses predominately endorsed traditional sexrole attitudes, with females being significantly more traditional, on the average, than their husbands. Some of these results contrast with those of studies from the 1970's and early 1980's. The results suggest that some Blacks may be moving away from the frequently-reported egalitarian attitude orientation. The results are discussed in light of their implications for mental health professionals working with couples and families experiencing transition with regard to definitions about roles, attitudes, and expectations in the context of marriage, family, or the workplace.