Marital Typologies

Many of the recent studies of marriage typologies have focused on a limited collection of marital behaviors rather than focusing on a more exhaustive list of characteristics of all marriages. For example a range of typologies have been developed examining: extramarital affairs in Taiwan (Chang 1999); divorcing couples (Cohen, Finzi, and Avi-Yonah 1999); dual earner couples (Crouter and Manke 1997; Rosenfeld, Bowen, and Richman 1995); marriages lasting 50 years or more (Dickson 1995); and alcohol consumption habits of marriage partners (Roberts and Leonard 1998). Though this proliferation of unique typologies helps scholars understand certain marriages, they cannot be used to classify all marriage relationships. For example, in many marriages neither individual consumes alcohol, and in other marriages neither partner engages in an extramarital affair. Because some typologies focus on an incomplete set of marital characteristics and behaviors they have limited utility in describing all marriages. This entry will primarily address typologies that tend to be more inclusive rather than those typologies limited to a small subset of marriages.