Couples in which the partners had lower levels of depression and anxiety, and higher

levels of positive well-being, were also couples who had more affectionate and satisfying

marriages.

 Not surprisingly, higher scores on the hostile couple conflict type scale predicted

higher levels of marital disaffection. This is in line with Gottman's (1994) theory and

research as well as Holman and Jarvis's (2003) findings, where the hostile couple conflict

type was consistently associated with lower marital satisfaction and stability. Cowan and

her associates' (1985) research uncovered a relationship between increasing conflict over

the transition to parenthood and decreasing marital satisfaction. The results from the

current investigation raise the question whether increases in all types of conflict over the

transition to parenthood would be associated with negative marital outcomes, or whether

only negative (hostile) conflict interactions would be related to dissatisfaction. More

recent studies also suggest constructive conflict engagement may be related to positive

marital outcomes (Heinicke & Guthrie, 1996; Paley et al., 2005).

 Child-related task differentiation was a fifth predictor in the model; higher scores

on this measure were associated with higher levels of marital disaffection. Couples in

which mothers and fathers took on highly differentiated roles in caring for their baby

were also couples who were less happy with their marriages. This is similar to findings in

several other studies (C. P. Cowan & Cowan, 1988; Cowan & Cowan, 2000; Cowan et

al., 1985; Grote & Clark, 2001; Hackel & Ruble, 1992; Hock et al., 1995; Lewis, 1989).

Again, it was only child-related task differentiation, not household task differentiation,

that was associated with the level of marital disaffection. For nearly every couple in the

sample, child-related tasks were skewed toward mothers completing the majority of these