IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v11y2022i3p107-d763992.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The ENRICH Marital Satisfaction (EMS) Scale: A Psychometric Study in a Sample of Portuguese Parents

Author

Listed:
  • Cristina Nunes

    (Psychology Research Centre, Campus de Gambelas, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

  • Cátia Martins

    (Psychology Research Centre, Campus de Gambelas, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

  • Andreia Leal

    (Psychology Research Centre, Campus de Gambelas, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

  • Pedro Pechorro

    (School of Psychology, Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal)

  • Laura Inês Ferreira

    (Psychology Research Centre, Campus de Gambelas, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

  • Lara Ayala-Nunes

    (Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK)

Abstract

Marital satisfaction is a key construct in the assessment of a couple’s relationship, and it encompasses aspects such as the feelings of affection, trust, and companionship that arise from the exchanges between spouses. The ENRICH Marital Satisfaction (EMS) Scale has been widely used as a reliable measure to assess marital satisfaction. In the present study, we aimed to analyze the psychometric properties and the factor structure of the EMS Scale in a sample of Portuguese parents. A total of 205 mothers and fathers participated; 107 were women (52%), and 98 were men (48%), and the mean age was 38.39 years ( SD = 5.85). The majority were two-parent families (89.3%), with children between the ages of 1 and 13 years ( M = 6.90), 53% of whom were boys. The participants completed the EMS Scale together with the Parenting Stress Index Short Form and the Parenting Alliance Inventory. The results from a confirmatory factor analysis corroborate the two-dimensional structure of the instrument, with internal validity and reliability values that were suitable for application in the Portuguese population. The EMS Scale can be an important resource, with good psychometric quality, for professionals and researchers, which can be used in assessment and intervention programs, both at the individual and couple levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Nunes & Cátia Martins & Andreia Leal & Pedro Pechorro & Laura Inês Ferreira & Lara Ayala-Nunes, 2022. "The ENRICH Marital Satisfaction (EMS) Scale: A Psychometric Study in a Sample of Portuguese Parents," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-11, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:107-:d:763992
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/3/107/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/3/107/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ayala Nunes, Lara & Nunes, Cristina & Lemos, Ida, 2014. "Parenting Alliance Among Mothers Of Psychosocially At-Risk Families," Spatial and Organizational Dynamics Discussion Papers 2014-2, CIEO-Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, University of Algarve.
    2. Kaylene J. Fellows & Hsin-Yao Chiu & E. Jeffrey Hill & Alan J. Hawkins, 2016. "Work–Family Conflict and Couple Relationship Quality: A Meta-analytic Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 509-518, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scott Schieman & Leah Ruppanner & Melissa A. Milkie, 2018. "Who Helps with Homework? Parenting Inequality and Relationship Quality Among Employed Mothers and Fathers," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 49-65, March.
    2. M. Joseph Sirgy & Dong-Jin Lee & Seolwoo Park & Mohsen Joshanloo & Minyoung Kim, 2020. "Work–Family Spillover and Subjective Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Coping Strategies," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 2909-2929, December.
    3. Miguel Pina E. Cunha & Remedios Hernández-Linares & Milton Sousa & Stewart Clegg & Arménio Rego, 2022. "Evolving Conceptions of Work-Family Boundaries: In Defense of The Family as Stakeholder," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 55-93, April.
    4. José Alberto Molina, 2021. "The Work–Family Conflict: Evidence from the Recent Decade and Lines of Future Research," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 4-10, July.
    5. Krista Lynn Minnotte & Michael C. Minnotte, 2018. "Work-Family Conflict Among Dual-Earners: Are Partner, Family, and Friends Resources or Liabilities?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 258-276, June.
    6. Ehab Salah Eshak, 2019. "Mental Health Disorders and Their Relationship with Work-Family Conflict in Upper Egypt," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 623-632, December.
    7. Dinh, Huong & Cooklin, Amanda R. & Leach, Liana S. & Westrupp, Elizabeth M. & Nicholson, Jan M. & Strazdins, Lyndall, 2017. "Parents' transitions into and out of work-family conflict and children's mental health: Longitudinal influence via family functioning," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 42-50.
    8. Toru Takahashi & Kurtz Law & Cosmin Dobrin & Alexandra Dutescu & Dorin Marchis, 2023. "Understanding Familial Conflict Issues Of Working From Home On Japanese White-Collar Workers In Central Tokyo," Romanian Economic Business Review, Romanian-American University, vol. 18(1), pages 47-64, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:107-:d:763992. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.