Aging & Social Change: Fourteenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

This study applies Relational Turbulence Theory (RTT) to examine the impact of uncertainty and interdependence on marital satisfaction and intimacy among post-retirement Arab couples in Israel. The research is pioneering in its focus on elderly Arab couples, Analyzing dyadic data from 108 retired pairs (average male age = 70.3, female age = 65.1). The study validates the psychometric properties of RTT in this context and establishes gender equivalence. Findings from actor-partner interdependence modeling reveal that self-uncertainty, partner uncertainty, relationship uncertainty, interference, and facilitation are significant predictors of marital satisfaction and intimacy. The results underscore the importance of partner effects, Highlighting the influence of each partner’s experiences on marital outcomes. This research enriches our understanding of post-retirement relationship dynamics in Arab society and broadens the applicability of RTT to new cultural and developmental spheres.