1. Introduction Approximately 85% of adults get married at least once in their lifetimes for a lot of different reasons. What started out as a union for social, economic or political reasons, changed in the mid/late 1800s to the need to have a lifelong relationship with the person one loves (Campbell & Wright, 2010). With current divorces rates so high, many want to know why people stay married. Canary and Stafford (1992) explain that couples use five behavior categories to try to keep the marriage going. These categories are summarized by positivity, openness, assurances, networking, and sharing tasks (Canary & Stafford, 1992). The use of these maintenance behaviors are most common among those who value their relationship and intend to stay married (Weigel & Ballard-Reisch, 1999a; Weigel & Ballard- Reisch, 1999b). In addition to these behaviors, an important factor in a couple’s decision to stay married is their satisfaction within the marriage. Rosen-Grandon, Myers, and Hattie (2004) found that marital satisfaction is usually measured through the effects of three characteristics: love, loyalty, and shared values. Hewitt and Flett (1991) found that one inhibitor of marital satisfaction is stress caused by a need for perfection. One question that arises in these marriages is if children have an effect on marital satisfaction. Previous research suggests that number of children and their age significantly affect marital satisfaction. Those that had kids held longer and more stable marriages than those that did not have children, especially if the couple had their first child during their teenage years (Carlson & Stinson, 1982). While the number of children has a negative relationship with marital satisfaction, those with younger children are more satisfied than those with older children. Todesco (2011) also found that as children age, marital satisfaction decreases. Hypothesis It was predicted that the number and age of children, and stress level of the parent will have a negative relationship to marital satisfaction in the rural communities of Northeast Georgia. Methods Materials Demographic Information : The demographics section assessed age, number and ages of children, what age the participant got married, what age the participant had his/her first child, and if any of the children over and under 18 are still living with him/her. Marital Satisfaction: The Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Busby, Christensen, Crane, & Larson, 1995) is a 14-item revision of the original Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). This version improved the psychometric properties, including only 3 of the original subscales: Dyadic Consensus, Dyadic Satisfaction, and Dyadic Cohesion. Parental Stress: The Parental Stress Scale (Berry & Jones, 1995) is an 18- item survey describing feelings and perceptions about the experience of being a parent. This instrument provides a measure of the factors listed above. Methods Participants: 43 residents of the North Georgia Region, with an average age of 39 were sampled. All participants were married and had an average of 2-3 children. Procedure: Self report data was collected from each participant. This required each participant to answer an approximate 15 minute online questionnaire. The survey consisted of a series of demographic questions related to their marriage and children, and two scales relating to parental stress and marital satisfaction. Results Results were compiled (N=43) and entered into SPSS to measure correlations. There was a negative correlation between the number of children and and marital satisfaction, r(42)=-.366, p<.05, and a positive correlation between the number of children and parental stress, r(42)=.339, p<.05. The ages of one’s children had a negative correlation with marital satisfaction, r(42)=-.362, p<.05. We found a negative correlation between parental stress and marital satisfaction, r(42)=-.423, p<.01. We also found a negative correlation between the age one starts having children and parental stress, r(42)=-.316, p<.05. Discussion Our results confirm our initial hypothesis, that number and age of children negatively affect marital satisfaction. Results also confirm that parental stress level negatively influences marital satisfaction. These findings from the North Georgia Region converge with previous studies done in other areas. This suggests that marital satisfaction is impacted by children in the same ways, regardless of the couples’ location. Higher responsibility is a significant predictor of stress, which could explain lower marital satisfaction as children age. Intimacy and making decisions together are significant predictors of marital satisfaction which may indicate the level of stress. Limitations and Future Directions We were limited by our social connections with married couples which led to a small sample size. A larger sample size would be ideal in future studies. Furthermore, our method of self-report could have been influenced by social desirability, which may have led to skewed results. We were unable study the effects of the length of the marriage, which future studies may wish to explore. References Berry, J. O., & Jones, W. H. (1995). The Parental Stress Scale: Initial psychometric evidence. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12, 463-472 Busby, D. M., Christensen, C., Crane, D. R., & Larson, J. H. (1995). A revision of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale for use with distressed and nondistressed couples: Construct hierarchy and multidimensional scales. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 21, 289-308. Campbell, K., & Wright, D. W. (2010). Marriage today: Exploring the incongruence between Americans’ beliefs and practices. Journal Of Comparative Family Studies, 41(3), 329-345. Canary, D. J., & Stafford, L. (1992). Relational maintenance strategies and equity in marriage. Communication Monographs, 59(3), 243-267. Carlson, E., & Stinson, K. (1982). Motherhood, marriage timing, and marital stability: A research note. Social Forces, 61(1), 258- 267. doi: 10.2307/2578085 Hewitt, P.L., & Flett, G.L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 456-470. Rosen-Grandon, J. R., Myers, J.E., Hattie, J.A. (2004). The Relationship Between Marital Characteristics, Marital Interaction Processes, and Marital Satisfaction. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82(1), 58-68. Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28. Todesco, L. (2011). A Matter of Number, Age or Marriage? Children and Marital Dissolution in Italy. Population Research & Policy Review, 30(2), 313-332. doi:10.1007/s11113-010-9190-1 Weigel, D. J., & Ballard-Reisch, D. (1999a). All marriages are not maintained equally: Marital type, marital quality, and the use of maintenance behaviors. Personal Relationships, 6(3), 291-303. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.1999.tb00193.x Weigel, D. J., & Ballard-Reisch, D. (1999b). How couples maintain marriages: A closer look at self and spouse influences upon the use of maintenance behaviors in marriages. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 48(3), 263-269. doi: 10.2307/585635 Marital Satisfaction in Relation to Age and Number of Children Danielle Balsamo, Melissa Deese, Jefferson Kiefer, & Promise Armstrong Faculty Advisor: Dr. Daniel Hatch Department of Psychology, North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, GA