Marital Instability Over the Life Course: A Six-Wave Panel Study

Six waves of longitudinal panel data were collected between 1980 and 2000 from married individuals aged 18-55 in 1980. The study examines causes of marital instability, tracking changes in economic resources, employment, health, family structure, and life goals over two decades. It also includes parallel data collected from adult offspring in 1992 and 1994, enabling analysis of intergenerational relationships and the transition to adulthood.

Use Cases

• Modeling predictors of divorce and marital separation based on economic factors and employment status.
• Analyzing the impact of caring for aging parents and dependent children on marital relationships.
• Studying the intergenerational transmission of attitudes and relationship quality using parent-offspring parallel measures.
• Investigating changes in marital satisfaction and life goals over a 20-year period within a cohort.

Strengths

• Provides longitudinal data across six waves spanning 20 years (1980-2000), enabling life course analysis.
• Includes parallel data from adult offspring, allowing for intergenerational and family-level studies.
• The dataset is described as Open Access, facilitating reuse.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and specific file formats are not provided in the sources.
• The last updated date is unknown, raising questions about data maintenance and availability.
• The description is truncated, suggesting incomplete documentation.

Provenance

Source

Alan Booth, Pennsylvania State University

Collection Method

Panel survey conducted in six waves.

Time Range

1980-2000

Geography

United States