Marital assortment for personality dispositions: Assessment with three different data sources

This study examined spouse correlations in a sample of 93 married couples with respect to 16 interpersonal dimensions using three different data sources: self-report, spouse ratings, and independent interviewer-observer ratings. Results across all three sources supported the previously obtained low positive correlations between spouses. Partial correlations using age and hierarchical multiple regressions using length of marriage do not support the alternative hypothesis that obtained spouse correlations are due to age, to cohort, or to convergence over the course of marriage. Initial assortment is implicated as a probable cause of obtained spouse correspondence.

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