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The factor structure of the Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire for Older Persons (Haynes et al., 1992) for a sample of elderly French persons was examined. For the sample as a whole, as well as for women and men separately, the fit between the French data and the structure postulated by Haynes et al. was satisfactory. The meaning of the Communication / Companionship factor was the same in France as in the U.S. It proved to be a broad factor that expresses satisfaction in a wide variety of marital areas. The meaning of the Sex Affection factor was slightly different in the French and U.S. samples. The proper name for this factor in the French sample would be Sex. Finally, the same pattern of correlation coefficients found in the U.S. sample between the two factors and a number of additional items was found for the French. In particular, Communication / Companionship scores were strongly linked to overall marital satisfaction, and Sex / Affection scores were only moderately correlated with overall marital satisfaction.
Haynes et al. (1992) developed the Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire for Older Persons. "The marital relationship is one of the most important factors influencing the life satisfaction of older persons. Additionally, the marital relationship can mediate the effects of the stressors associated with aging and serve as an important source of social support" (p. 473). The purpose of this questionnaire was to assess marital satisfaction in a way that was appropriate for older persons. Several marital satisfaction inventories have indeed already been developed and psychometrically evaluated but they contain items irrelevant to older persons (e.g., having similar job ambitions, raising children) or sometimes omit items that are very important to them (e.g., health, aging, financial difficulties). In other words, the Haynes et al. instrument had to contain only items relevant to older persons. The work of Haynes et al. was based on previous studies by Locke and Wallace (1959), Snyder, Wills, and Keiser (1981), and Spanier (1976). It included a series of five surveys on the responses of more than 450 people who averaged 66 years of age and lived in large-and medium-size cities in the American Midwest. The final questionnaire contained four sets of items pertaining to (a) satisfaction with communication and companionship (16...