Applying the Actor-partner Interdependence Model to Meta-analysis: A Dyadic Test of the Spillover-crossover Model for Dual-income Couples

Dual-income couples, where both partners in a romantic couple are employed, comprise a considerable portion of the workforce. Both partners can carry strain from paid work into the home, and the spillover-crossover model posits that individuals carry strain from one domain into another, affecting their well-being (i.e., spillover) and their partner’s well-being (i.e., crossover). Here, we present a meta-analysis examining the influence of actor’s and partner’s work-family conflict on their own and their partner’s marital satisfaction. We apply the actor-partner interdependence model to meta-analysis, demonstrating a methodologically robust synthesis of dyadic data. This novel approach allows us to rigorously test spillover-crossover theory and contribute to the scholarship on dual-income couples by providing a more holistic, field-wide summary of the relationships between work-family conflict and marital satisfaction. Results suggest that dual-income couples’ work-family conflict has a significant impact on their own and their partner’s marital satisfaction; spillover and crossover occurring between actor and partner work-family conflict explains variance in both actor and partner marital satisfaction. Our study provides methodological evidence to support the inclusion of dyadic data in meta-analysis, as well as expands our understanding of spillover and crossover in dual-income couples. Suggestions for future research and practice are presented.