Actor-Partner Analyses of the Relationship Between Family-of-Origin Triangulation and Marital Satisfaction in Chinese Couples

This study assessed how couples interdependently influence the relationship between family-of-origin triangulation and marital satisfaction across sub-samples in Stage III and Stage IV of the family life cycle. The total sample consisted of 569 couples between 24 and 49 years of age in Beijing, China. The analyses were performed in two sub-samples using the actor-partner interdependence model, a dyadic analysis technique. We found that couples in Stage III reported higher family-of-origin triangulation and less satisfaction and cohesion than couples in Stage IV. Furthermore, couples who lived with their parents or in-laws reported less affectional expression than those who lived on their own. The family-of-origin triangulation of both husbands and wives predicted marital satisfaction in the two sub-samples. Husband marital satisfaction was predicted by wife family-of-origin triangulation in the two sub-samples, whereas wife marital satisfaction was predicted by her own family-of-origin triangulation only in family Stage III. Moreover, model comparisons demonstrated that husband marital satisfaction was predicted equally by his own and his wife's family-of-origin triangulation in the sub-sample of couples in Stage III. In addition, individual marital satisfaction was equally predicted by his/her own and his/her spouse's family-of-origin triangulation in the sub-sample of couples in Stage IV. Family therapists should pay closer attention to intergenerational relationships in China, particularly in couples with young children, and should adopt culturally adapted family intervention programs.