Stressors and enhancers in the marital life of the clinical psychologist

This study examined how certain stressors and enhancers unique to the work of the clinical psychologist impact his or her marriage. Previous investigations (Wetchler & Piercy, 1986; Duncan & Duerden, 1990; Duncan & Goddard, 1993) examined factors that aided or stressed family and marriage therapists in their work. However, no systematic investigation has been conducted specifically on how clinical psychologists' work enhances or stresses their marriages. Enhancers and stressors were gathered from the responses of 68 clinical psychologists and correlated with the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test, as well as a measure created and used to identify confidence and experience levels in various issues in therapy. Clinical psychologists reported significantly more enhancers than stressors, and the exposure to more enhancers appeared to be significantly correlated with higher marital adjustment. This is consistent with previous research in the area. Several other hypotheses were explored. Implications for training, policy, and future research are discussed.