Early Years of Marriage (EYM) Project, Years 1-4, 1986-1989

373 newlywed couples—174 White and 199 Black—were tracked for four years to study how early marriage development affects health and stability. The University of Michigan's project, led by Joseph Veroff, conducted in-home and telephone interviews from 1986 to 1989. Respondents were queried on topics like marital satisfaction, arguments, family planning, household roles, and mental health.

Use Cases

• Modeling marital stability based on reported satisfaction and conflict resolution patterns.
• Analyzing the relationship between job satisfaction and family life based on interview questions.
• Studying racial differences in family planning and childcare expectations among newlyweds.
• Investigating links between physical/mental health and perceptions of spouse and in-laws.

Strengths

• Longitudinal design tracking 373 couples over four years with high retention.
• Includes 199 Black couples and 174 White couples, enabling comparative racial analysis.
• Data collection involved both separate and joint in-home interviews, likely providing multiple perspectives.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is from 1986-1989 and may reflect temporal and cultural biases of that period.
• Sample consists only of intra-racial, first-marriage couples, limiting generalizability.

Provenance

Source

University of Michigan, Joseph Veroff

Collection Method

Annual interviews (in-home and telephone) with newlywed couples.

Time Range

1986-1989