The relationship among fathers' physical disability, agreement regarding marital satisfaction, and perception of children's emotional state

The present study investigated the relationship among fathers' physical disability, couples' extent of agreement regarding their marital satisfaction, and the parents' perception of their children's emotional status. Forty families with a disabled veteran father and 20 matched control families volunteered to participate in the study. Subjects filled out the marital Satisfaction Inventory and the Child Behavior Checklist. Marital satisfaction was operationally defined as level of couple's agreement over major dimensions of marriage. Results indicated that couples with disabled spouses were significantly more in agreement over major dimensions of marital relationship than were control couples. Level of agreement was unrelated to severity of disability and timing of marriage with respect to injury. There was some indication that this agreement is associated with perception of children's emotional state.