Intimacy and marital satisfaction in spouses

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between intimacy and marital satisfaction of couples in different stages of the family life cycle. The Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (PAIR) questionnaire (Schaefer & Olson, 1981) and a subscale of the Enriching and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH) questionnaire (Olson, Fournier, & Druckman, 1982) were administered to 57 couples. Significant differences between men and women were found on two of the five aspects of experienced intimacy (sexual and recreational) as well as for social and sexual discrepancy scores (difference between experienced and desired intimacy). With the exception of social intimacy as experienced by women, a positive correlation was found for both sexes between all the components of experienced intimacy and marital satisfaction. No difference were found for experienced intimacy or marital satisfaction according to family developmental stages.