This paper examines the impact of individual and family life transitions on marital relationships from a social exchange perspective. The first section of the paper reviews and integrates several social exchange perspectives, derived from both sociological and social psychological traditions, in particular the works of Thibaut and Kelly (1959), Levinger and Huesmann (1980), Scanzoni (1979), and Altman and Taylor (1973), and reformulates the exchange model as applied to marital relationships. The second section of the paper discusses the potential impact of individual and family life transitions on relationship interdependence, commitment, and stabilty or cohesion. The role of commitment as a feedback mechanism providing information about both the level of relational interdependence and the potential for rewards in alternative relationships is explored. (PAS)