The enrich marital satisfaction scale: Adaptation and psychometric properties among at-risk and community Portuguese parents

Abstract

Marital satisfaction is a multidimensional construct that encompasses the satisfaction with marital interactions and with the emotional and the practical aspects of marriage. Marital satisfaction has a great impact on personal well-being and affects the family as a whole; low marital satisfaction has been associated with unhappiness and with higher divorce rates. Furthermore, marital satisfaction is related with family functioning and is an indicator of the quality of the parenting relationship. The Enrich Marital Satisfaction (EMS) scale is a two-factor and 15-items self-report measure that assesses satisfaction with the marital relationship. This study analysed the psychometric properties of the EMS among two samples: at-risk ( N = 273, M = 37.05 years, 82.05% women) and community ( N = 205, M = 38.38 years, 52.2% women) Portuguese parents. Participants completed the EMS and measures of parenting sense of competence, parenting stress, and parenting alliance. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the revised two-factor model obtained the best fit, after removing a few items. Measurement invariance across the two samples was demonstrated. The EMS showed good psychometric properties, namely internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity. The EMS is a time-efficient tool for both researchers and practitioners who need to assess marital satisfaction, a relevant dimension for family functioning and parenting.

Influence of Co-Parenting on Parental Burnout: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…According to the risk–resource balance theory, parenting burnout occurs when parents are exposed to excessive stress without access to sufficient resources to alleviate it. Nunes et al [ 10 ]. argued that supportive co-parenting in the parenting system serves as a resource that can enhance marital satisfaction between couples and help them cope with risk and stress effectively, thus contributing to the reduction of parenting burnout, which is the same as the conclusion reached in the present study, which will provide a useful direction for the design of future parenting burnout intervention programs.…”

“…In the parental system, supportive collaborative parenting is a resource. It can improve the marital satisfaction between husband and wife and help them cope with risks and pressures effectively, thus reducing the possibility of parenting burnout [ 10 ]. On the contrary, conflicting or inconsistent collaborative parenting, as a stressor, intensifies parenting pressure, thus increasing the possibility of parenting burnout [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Parenting Sense of Competence: Psychometrics and Invariance among a Community and an At-Risk Samples of Portuguese Parents

“…Internal consistency for the present study, estimated by Cronbach's alpha, was α = 0.96 for the at-risk sample and α = 0.95 for the community sample. [56]; Portuguese Version: Nunes and Colleagues [57])…”