Individual Traits and Behavior Indi

Individual Traits and Behavior

Individual traits and behavior include emotional health, self-esteem, neurotic behavior, and depression; conventionality; and physical health. Personality traits have long been considered predictors of marital success. Larson and Holman (1994) recommend an initial assessment and referral for personal therapy when there are indications of problems with emotional health, self-esteem, neurotic behavior, or depression. They emphasize that only licensed mental health professionals should diagnose psychological disorders, which suggests the need for clergy to have knowledge about when and to whom to refer individuals who have problems beyond their expertise. They suggest assessing interpersonal skills (especially sociability), conventionality, and 62 physical health. When interpersonal skills are lacking, individuals can be referred for therapy or skills training. The practitioner can discuss the possible ramifications of unconventionality on marriage and can refer health-related issues to health professionals. Kessler, Walters, and Forthofer (1998) found that prior psychiatric disorders were associated with a substantially higher rate of divorce. Wilson et al. (1997) found that the quality of marriage for both partners is influenced by wives’ emotional health. They suggest the power of this factor is magnified by the socialization of women to feel responsible for the quality of the relationship, which may discourage wives from using the marriage as a buffer from emotional distress. A study of personality and mate preferences (Botwin, Buss, & Shackelford, 1997) found that the personality characteristics of a partner predicted marital and sexual dissatisfaction. The strongest association was when the partner was lower than desired on Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect-Openness. An individual trait that has been linked to decreased satisfaction in relationships is having unrealistic and overly romantic beliefs about marriage. An intervention among college students used social science research combined with applied teaching techniques to help the participants gain a more realistic perception of marriage (Sharp & Ganong, 2000). The group receiving the intervention significantly lowered their romantic beliefs from pre-test to post-test.