Introduction

Family plays a leading role in all processes of its members’ development. In a continuous and irreversible process such as aging, family should play an even more relevant role (^{Nogueira et al., 2022}).

As the individual gets older, his/her role in the family unit will change. The role with which they identified and which established their place in the family is modified by aging (^{Lourenço, 2006}). These changes may lead to a strengthening of the family ties or, on the contrary, to the isolation of those who grow old. This isolation may be due to a lack of understanding or unavailability of the other family members or because the individual does not want to share himself/herself with the family (^{Kowalet al., 2021}). Thus, the individual lives his/her aging socially, taking into account the different contexts in which he/she is inserted, particularly the family. By playing their role in the family, they may feel respected, integrated and useful, maintaining their self-confidence, living fully and taking advantage of the greater availability of time. However, if you feel segregated or unwanted by your family, you may experience old age as an unhappy stage.

In the systemic view of the life cycle of a family, there are five stages of excellence in the formation and development of the family system (^{Loureiro et al., 2022}; ^{Silva et al., 2022}): the formation of the couple, the family with young children, the family with children at school, the family with adolescent children and the family with adult children (or the empty nest stage).

Thus, ageing fits in the last stage of the life cycle. The stage when adult children leave home is when the members of the couple are often confronted with their own old age. At this stage, some adaptations are expected, namely to the physical and psychological decline, the bereavement of significant others and friends, and also the confrontation with their own finitude (^{Mukku et al., 2018}). However, there are positive aspects in this stage of the life cycle, such as the greater availability to the family. In the conjugal context, there are two stages in which the couple is the exclusive element of the system: at the beginning and at the end of life (^{Yemiscigil et al., 2021}).

In the process of joint aging, it is important for the individual to exist as a self, outside the relationship so that he/she can continue to live with meaning upon the death of the spouse. Thus, growing old together also means maturing personally and maintaining the self (^{Yorgason et al., 2020}). Therefore, aging impacts on conjugality, as well as conjugality impacts on aging, affecting each other mutually.

Conjugality seems to be a source of well-being. In the married population, the level of mortality is lower and the level of well-being is higher than in the unmarried population (^{Choi et al., 2020}). Several indicators seem to support this theory: fewer cases of mental health treatment, more positive indications of psychological well-being, and fewer negative indicators; illnesses, hospitalizations, and mortality rate are significantly lower in the married population (^{Alvarez-Bueno et al., 2021}). The distribution of income shows that positive marital status is also associated with a more economically distressed life (^{Yorgason et al., 2020}).

While aging was seen as an exclusively individual problem, there was no questioning of issues of a social nature such as retirement, illness, poverty, or social isolation (^{Nogueira et al., 2022}). The concept of retirement has been changing and is now characterized by the longevity revolution, where individuals work for more years but are also retired for more years. The growing number of retirees impacts both society and the economy, globally (^{Scharn et al., 2018}). Changing roles and identities in midlife and beyond can be a very unsettling period, similar to adolescence (^{Li et al., 2021}). There is, at this stage, a questioning of the meaning of life.

Historically, retirement is a relatively new phenomenon. The concept and process of retirement are evolving rapidly. Retirement is an interdisciplinary topic and one whose research has been growing. One of the factors that have led to a growth in retirement research is the rapid aging of populations in most developed countries resulting from low birth rates, increased longevity, and the arrival at the retirement age of people from the baby boom cohort (^{Scharn et al., 2018}).

Changing family structures are also altering patterns and experiences related to retirement. For example, more and more couples are trying to retire at the same time. In addition, many women postpone the birth of their children and their parents increasingly live longer, so some women find themselves caught between the demands of caring for children and parents. There are clear gender differences in how men and women cope with these demands in the final stages of their careers (^{Pedreiro et al., 2021}). Women are more likely to look for a new job or retire when the demands start to become overwhelming, while men tend to adjust schedules in order to remain in the same job while responding to the demands of caring for family members (^{Scharn et al., 2018}).

Marital status influences the individual's well-being, with married individuals reporting higher levels of happiness than unmarried ones. Partners are important resources in the adjustment process to stressful life events, such as illness, disability, or retirement. Partners provide resources, such as companionship and social support, that make adjustment easier (^{Choi et al., 2020}).

Spouse influence increases after retirement as couples spend more time together and social networks diminish due to the loss of work-related contacts (^{Li et al., 2021}). Spouses can influence each other's health behaviors in a variety of ways.

Many couples in this age group do not talk about the next stage, retirement. Although communication is key to a healthy relationship, there are several factors that influence the lack of communication. They do not talk because it is difficult to have time together, they assume they will disagree and do not want to open “Pandora's box”, they do not want to think about the future because it forces them to confront their own mortality or they lack communication skills (^{Choi, 2021}).

This article aims to present the analysis of the interrelationship between the experience of adaptation to retirement and marital enrichment and development.

1. Methods

2. Results

In what concerns Idealization, this category measures the subject's idealization of the marital relationship. The maximum score in this category is 25 points, with high results indicating a high level of idealization and low results indicating a more realistic attitude. The average score of this sample was 18.09 points, indicating that they are at a high level of idealization of the relationship. However, the authors of the original scale reveal that this subscale shows high correlation with other scales that measure the tendency of individuals to answer questions in the socially desired direction (^{Lourenço, 2006}).

In the Satisfaction category, the maximum score is 50 points, with high scores reflecting compatibility and satisfaction with many aspects of the marital relationship, while the opposite shows dissatisfaction with those same aspects. The scale assesses ten areas of the marital relationship: personality traits, roles of responsibility, communication, conflict resolution, finances, free time management, sexual relationship, parental responsibilities, relationships with family and friends, and religious orientation. The mean satisfaction in this sample was 30.65 points, slightly above the mid-point of the scale.

In Personality Aspects, the maximum score is 50 points. This subscale assesses the individual partner's perception of behavioral issues and the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction about them. These items take into account traits such as lack of punctuality, temperament, melancholy, stubbornness, jealousy and possessiveness as well as public display of affection and smoking and alcohol habits, addiction and tendency to dominate. High scores reflect adjustment to the partner and satisfaction with their behavior while inversely low scores indicate a low level of acceptance. The mean of this sample was 27.98 points, indicating discomfort with the behavior of the spouse.

In Communication, linked to individual feelings, beliefs and attitudes about communication in the relationship, the maximum score is 50 points. High scores indicate satisfaction with the level of communication in the relationship while low scores indicate deficit in the level of communication. The sample average is 30.39 points, indicating that communication is not at satisfactory levels.

With regard to Conflict Resolution, the maximum score is 50 points. This subscale assesses individual attitudes, feelings and beliefs regarding the existence and resolution of conflicts in the relationship. High scores indicate comfort with the way conflicts are resolved in the relationship while low scores indicate dissatisfaction. The sample mean score is 28.60, which demonstrates an ineffective approach to conflicts in the relationship.

In Financial Management, which focuses on attitudes and concerns about how economic issues are managed in the couple, has a maximum score of 45 points. High scores indicate satisfaction with the couple's financial management and low scores indicate the opposite. The mean score for this sample was 23.58 points. This average just above the middle of the subscale indicates concerns with the couple's financial management.

In the subscale Leisure Time Activities, the maximum score is 45 points. Individual preferences in the use of leisure time are evaluated and high scores indicate compatibility on the use of leisure time activities while low scores indicate the opposite. Here the average of the sample was 28.93 points, which may indicate some consensus in the realization of leisure activities.

In Sexual Relationships, the maximum score is 50 points, being evaluated the individual feelings and concerns about the affective and sexual relationship with the partner. High results indicate a positive attitude on the role of sexuality in the couple, while low results indicate the opposite. The mean score of the sample was 31.75 points which indicates satisfaction with the expressions of affection and satisfaction with the role of sexuality in the relationship.

In the dimension Children and Marriage, and because we decided to remove 7 items, the maximum score is 10 points. High scores indicate satisfaction with parental roles and responsibilities while low scores reflect low consensus and concern about the impact of children on the couple's relationship. The average of the sample was 3.45 points indicating dissatisfaction with this aspect of the relationship.

With regard to Family and Friends, the maximum score is 45, assessing feelings and concerns about relationships with relatives and friends. High scores indicate satisfactory relationships with family and friends while low scores indicate discomfort with these same relationships. The sample mean score was 24.09, indicating satisfactory perceptions about the presence of family and friends in the couple's relationship.

In Role Equality, the maximum score is 50 points. Beliefs, feelings and attitudes about the various marital and family roles are assessed. High scores indicate equitable sharing of roles while low scores do not indicate lack of satisfaction but indicate that respondents value traditional roles and areas of responsibility for men and women. The sample mean score is 26.13, indicating a valuing of traditional roles for men and women.

In Religious Orientation, which assesses individual attitudes, feelings and concerns about the significance of religious beliefs and practices in the context of marriage, the maximum score is 45 points. High scores indicate that the respondent has a more traditional view that religion is an extremely important component of marriage while low scores indicate the opposite. The sample mean score is 27.09, indicating that in these couples’ religion is an important component of the relationship.

Student’s t-test was used to compare the two groups in the various dimensions that make up the ENRICH scale with the retirement variable. Thus, it was possible to conclude that in no dimension there are statistically significant differences between participants who have not yet retired and those who are already retired.

The chi-square test (_X²) was used to assess the association between the variables gender, age and academic qualifications and the variable retirement in the different dimensions of the ENRICH. Since some sub-samples are less than five elements, we analyzed the significance provided using the Monte Carlo test. This test predicts the results for a population of 10,000 samples (Table 2).

The results indicate statistically significant differences for the variable retirement according to gender and age. Being retired, regardless of gender or age, is positive for the marital relationship in the dimensions assessed by ENRICH, indicating that retirement positively influences the marital relationship. These differences are not found for the educational attainment variable.

We used a univariate analysis for each of the dependent variables according to gender, retirement, age and academic qualifications in order to analyze the different dimensions of the ENRICH.

No statistically significant differences were found in the Personality Aspects dimension. However, the value of the intercept between retirement and academic qualifications is slightly higher than the value used to indicate statistically significant differences (p = .06).

In the Communication dimension, we find differences according to the moment in which the participant is (p = .03). Communication decreases when the participant retires.

In the dimension Family and Friends, there are statistically significant differences for the variable gender with a p=.04. These differences are also visible in the intersection between the variables retirement and academic qualifications (p=.03). In the gender variable, women were more comfortable with the role of family and friends in the marital relationship before retirement, decreasing dramatically after this transition. Men presented an inverse behavior. In other words, women are less comfortable in family relationships after retirement, while men are more comfortable.

In the dimension Equality of Roles, statistically significant differences were observed in the educational level variable (p=.00). Participants with secondary education increase the perception of role equality when they transition into retirement. Conversely, participants with higher education show a decrease in this perception when they retire.

3. Discussion

In most dimensions of the ENRICH scale, couples position themselves slightly above the middle scores of the subscales, indicating dissatisfaction with the marital relationship in the different aspects. Marital satisfaction is an important subjective aspect not only individually but also for the family well-being, with relevant effects on the different aspects of their functioning (^{Nunes et al., 2022}).

According to ^{Abreu-Afonso et al. (2022}), there is a continuous decline in marital quality after the initial stages of the family life cycle, and this decline is continuous and constant after the couple is formed. However, this decrease in marital quality does not occur after retirement and there is even an increase in quality after retirement.

The analysis of the ENRICH dimensions applied to the present sample, seems to indicate that conjugality is positively influenced by the variable retirement. According to ^{Li et al. (2021}), the retirement phase is often accompanied by another phase: the honeymoon. This phase appears in association with the phase already described above, in which the individual tries to put into practice all the projects that he/she has idealized during his/her professional activity. It seems, therefore, that spouses believe that the marital relationship will benefit from retirement, since the greater availability of time will allow them to achieve dreams and plans which were not realized due to job restrictions. However, the couple may revert to pre-existing patterns of interaction after this initial phase (^{Kowal et al., 2021}), so further research in this area may help to understand if this is what is happening to this population.

There is a greater satisfaction with conjugality when communication is effective, well managed and pleases both members of the couple (^{Choi, 2021}). The participants in this study demonstrate this connection between marital satisfaction and effective communication. Associated with communication is the ability to solve conflicts. Only with an effective communication can conflicts arising within the couple be solved (^{Abreu-Afonso et al., 2022}). This satisfaction with the relationship also seems to be related to the couple's management and compatibility in occupying their free time, as well as the agreement and consensus regarding how to express affections and feelings and the management of sexuality between spouses (^{Abreu-Afonso et al., 2022}).

At this stage of the relationship, sexuality focuses not only on the sexual act itself, but also on acts of intimacy. Sexual activity tends to decrease with age, but this does not imply that couples are not sexually active (^{Fraser et al., 2021}).

Thus, the more effective and less dubious the communication between the couple, the better their relationship will be. We can consider that communication is strongly linked to marital functioning. When the couple's communication is inhibited, there will be problems in the relationship, which translate into not talking about the relationship, intimacy and conjugality (^{Lourenço, 2006}). These failures in conversation may negatively influence not only the couple but also the mental health of individuals and families. According to ^{Fraser et al. (2021}), a communication can be considered pathological when it does not fulfil its function of a positive bond between individuals, but contributes, on the contrary, to originate a climate of incomprehension and resentment between them.

^{Lourenço (2006}) considers that idealization at this stage of life coincides with the children leaving home. This phase of the 'empty nest' occurs simultaneously with the entry into retirement and may lead to a re-focusing on the couple and their experience of conjugality.

While the children are at home, the couple is concerned with their education, with providing conditions for them to have access to the best opportunities, to be autonomous and to start their own family. During this phase, the education of the children takes center stage and conjugality is not the center of couples' lives (^{Kowal et al., 2021}). With the empty nest, although many couples feel lost, individuals have the opportunity to return to conjugality and to each other. Thus, marital satisfaction may increase with the departure of children and not necessarily with the transition to retirement.

This new phase that couples are going through is characterized by many movements, since the departure of children is associated with the entry of new people, such as daughters and sons-in-law and grandchildren (^{Kowal et al. 2021}). Marital satisfaction may also be compromised if the couple finds itself between two generations (ascendants and descendants) that need their support. This entrapment between two generations may compromise not only the marital satisfaction but also the couple's health.

This stage of couples' lives presents challenges. According to ^{Lourenço (2006}), these challenges can be summarized as: facilitating the children's departure from home, adapting the couple relationship and learning how to deal with ageing. Retirement appears as another challenge, which has implications in the readjustment of the couple and also in the way each individual deals with his/her own ageing process. At this stage, couples tend to look more at their core, assessing the quality of their marriage and looking to the future (^{Kowal et al., 2021}).

With regard to gender, the results seem to point to the existence of gender differences in the dimensions of the scale. This is the case of Communication, in which men show less satisfaction with this aspect of the relationship than women are. However, the levels of satisfaction with this dimension are closer between genders, after retirement.

There is an area of relationships that seems to indicate some conflict: Family and Friends dimension. While women assume satisfaction with this area before retirement, men show discomfort with these interferences in the marital relationship. After retirement, men and women show an approximation regarding this dimension. This fact seems to be in line with previous studies (^{Sheppard & Stanford, 2019}). According to ^{Silva et al. (2022}), this phase reflects an increase in perceived marital quality and satisfaction, as well as a greater importance assigned to the family and conjugality.

We can consider that there are four areas in which the genders differ: education, economy and power, sexuality and consensus on birth and parenthood. Traditionally, men are educated to be the leaders of the family, the ones who earn a higher salary and therefore have a higher status than women in the family. Also related to this role of financial leader of the family, men are taught not to sacrifice their job and remuneration to help the family while women tend to devote themselves more to the family and forego career advancement (^{Choi et al., 2020}).

Similarly to what is reported in other studies, in the dimensions Idealization, Marital Satisfaction, Leisure Activities, Financial Management and Sexual Relations, both genders perceived an improvement from the pre-retirement to the post-retirement phase (^{Abreu-Afonso et al., 2022}; ^{Lourenço, 2006}). Thus, retirement may mean, for the couples in the sample and in their current phase, the idealization and satisfaction with conjugality that goes against the initial honeymoon phase (^{Choi, 2021}).

Conclusion

As the ageing process is an evolutionary process, the individual experiences this process throughout his/her life cycle and is accompanied in this process by his/her family. Therefore, we may conclude that, in terms of health maintenance, it will be beneficial to continuously monitor the family and the couple (^{Kasalova et al., 2018}). The couple will be mostly in the empty nest phase, and the interventions should particularly focus on the couple, so as to preserve their health capital. The conjugal relationship seems to be a protective factor in this transition. When necessary, it is essential to mediate situations that require intervention at different levels of prevention.

As concluded by other studies (^{Lourenço, 2006}; ^{Pedreiro et al., 2021}; ^{Scharn et al., 2018}), the results presented reiterate the importance that recently retired people give to the family, particularly the spouse. The family is not only a source of support and support in the transition to retirement, but it is also important as a way to occupy time and to give meaning to life. Based on this principle, the transition to retirement raises several issues within the family, thus highlighting the need to promote family health in a systemic way at this stage of the life cycle.

This study showed evidence that this transition is also unique in marital re adaptation. Each couple's expectations towards the future depend on the quality perceived by each of the spouses about their marriage, what they have already experienced and their satisfaction at the current moment (^{Lourenço, 2006}).

The sample size was small and that was one of the limitations of this study. The fact that the number of retirees and non-retirees was very different in size is another limitation.

The future research in this area should focus on increasing sample size and on a longitudinal study that allows accompanying people through the transition process.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the administrative and technical support of the Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing, hosted by the Nursing School of Coimbra.