Application of ecological momentary assessment to the study of marital adjustment and social interactions during daily life

Abstract

The authors examined the utility of ecological momentary assessment for assessing spousal interactions in the natural environment among 245 healthy, married, older adults. Convergent validity for this method was demonstrated by (a) a positive association between marital adjustment (MA) and average diary ratings of agreeableness during spousal interactions and (b) an inverse association between MA and average diary ratings of conflict during spousal interactions. When agreeableness and conflict were examined simultaneously for spousal interactions, only agreeableness independently predicted MA. By contrast, when nonspousal interactions were examined, only conflict during nonspousal interactions was an independent predictor of MA. Results underscore the merit of obtaining representative measures of social interactions during daily life for understanding influences on and consequences of MA.