THE IMPACT OF RETIREMENT ON MARITAL DYAD MEMBERS: AN EXPLORATORY TEST OF THE EXCHANGE HYPOTHESIS

The purpose of this thesis is to test exchange principles as they apply to the impact of retirement on marital interaction and the psychological well-being of husbands and wives. Survey methodologies are combined with a cross-sectional research design to identify the social and psychological factors influencing variations in long-term marriages.; Retirement is viewed as a crisis wherein husbands and wives may experience resource decline of income, health, and social relations with friends. Thus, marital adjustment after retirement may vary with resource availability. The husbands' relative of resources influences reciprocity, domestic contributions, balance of power, conflict, dependency, marital satisfaction, and psychological well-being.; Ten Senior Centers in Western New York were contacted to make up the retired population. Via a referral system of subject recruitment, retired husbands and wives referred the investigator to pre-retired husbands and wives much like themselves. A total of 372 husbands and wives between the ages of 55 and 75 completed the self-administered questionnaire. Composite indices of the dependent variables were constructed utilizing factor analyses. Analysis of variance and correlation analyses are used to assess the varying influence of retirement on the dependent variables.; The retirement episode was found to be significantly related to resource losses in the form of income and health. Contrary to our predictions, social relations increased following retirement. Also, a greater degree of reciprocity is associated with retirement. Further, although predicted variables fail to account for variations in conflict for wives, husbands report decreased conflict. However, in support of predictions, husbands increase input into household tasks and suffer loss of power relative to wives.; Also in support, there is an increase in stress, denial, and dependency for both dyad members. And, although retirement is associated with depression, when education and health are introduced as controls, the association diminishes. Also, social class is associated with husbands' nuturance level rather than retirement. Dominance among wives, however, is strongly related to the episode.; This study demonstrates the utility of exchange theory for understanding the social-psychological factors of retirement and individuals making up the dyad.