Bron Ingoldsby

Emotional Expressiveness and Marital Adjustment in Ecuador

Abstract This study investigates the relationship between emotional expressiveness and dyadic adjustment in a sample of adults from Guayaquil, Ecuador. Hypotheses were explored and tested in the following areas: the factor structure of emotional expressiveness and marital adjustment items, gender differences in emotional expressiveness, and the relationship between emotional expressiveness and marital adjustment. The factor structure in the current sample shows similar structures as a previous Latin American sample, but differing from the structures identified in U.S. samples. Women were not found to report a difference in expressiveness compared to men. Emotional expressiveness showed a strong relationship with marital adjustment, illustrating the importance of sharing positive emotions while suppressing negative ones (expression of sadness was not significant). Implications for practitioners in cross-cultural work, and possible explanations for cultural differences are discussed.

The Role of Discipline in Hutterite Child Rearing

The Hutterian Brethren are an Anabaptist religious group who live communally and have flourished since coming to North America in the 1870s. Colony life is structured so as to resist the modernizing influences of the greater society and to instill conformity to traditional values and behaviors in their children. The authors examine the role of discipline in the child-rearing behaviors of the Hutterites over time in the context of overall family change in recent years via qualitative ethnography. The Hutterites have only been able to slow the rate of change but not to completely avoid the values and practices of the outside culture. Generational changes in parental discipline, and what that means for the Hutterites, is discussed.

An Exchange Theory Perspective on Couple Formation Preferences and Practices in Ecuador

ABSTRACT Exploratory studies of mate selection practices and preferences are reported. In the first study, the demographic characteristics of couple formation are explored in a nationally representative sample of women in Ecuador. Results indicate significant differences by region. In the second study, a social exchange perspective is utilized to explore qualities believed to be important in selecting a marriage partner among a sample of persons from Guayaquil, Ecuador. In 2001, 121 adults responded to forty-six items identified in the social exchange literature as traits important to mate selection preferences. Results indicate that the large majority of respondents marry for love and within their social class. Significant differences were identified within the sample and are discussed. Overall, mate selection preferences in Latin America appear to be very similar to those in the United States, with noted exceptions being associated regional variation and demographic characteristics.