Gender differences in the link between marital support and satisfaction in older couples.

Recent work on social support in marriage indicates that the link between marital satisfaction and social support is stronger for wives than husbands (D. Julien & H. J. Markman, 1991). Hypotheses based on these findings and on studies of interpersonal perception were tested on a sample of 69 older married couples (mean age = 74 years). The separate effects of giving, receiving, and reciprocity on spouses' marital satisfaction and well-being were...