Attachment Anxiety, Verbal Immediacy, and Blood Pressure: Results from a Laboratory-Analogue Study Following Marital Separation

Marital separation and divorce increase risk for all-cause morbidity and mortality. Using a laboratory analogue paradigm, the present study examined attachment anxiety, language use, and blood pressure (BP) reactivity among 119 (n = 43 men, 76 women) recently separated adults who were asked to mentally reflect on their relationship history and separation experience. We created a language use composite of verbal immediacy from participants' stream-of-consciousness recordings about their separation experience as a behavioral index of attachment-related hyperactivation. Verbal immediacy moderated the association between attachment anxiety and BP at the beginning of a divorce-specific activation task. Participants reporting high attachment anxiety who discussed their separation in a first-person, present-oriented and highly engaged manner evidenced the highest levels of BP at the start of the divorce-specific task. Results provide a deeper understanding of the association between marital dissolution and health and suggest that verbal immediacy may be a useful behavioral index of hyperactivating coping strategies.     

Exploration of a Marital Typology: Implications for Marital Functioning in a Multi-Ethnic Sample

Marital conflict is associated with multiple negative outcomes for couples, including marital dissatisfaction and divorce. Little research, however, has examined conflict in Hispanic/Latino couples or its association with marital satisfaction, which creates an unfortunate knowledge gap for clinicians working with diverse client groups. The present study sought to examine both marital conflict and satisfaction using a sample of 231 European American (EA; n = 108) and Hispanic/Latino (H/L; n = 123) couples. Through observational coding, couples were placed into four groups based on their type of conflict management strategies: Harmonious, Withdrawn, Conflictual-Expressive, or Conflictual-Hostile. For both ethnic groups, couples in the Harmonious group were nondistressed and couples in the Conflictual-Hostile group were in the distressed range of marital satisfaction. Cross-ethnic differences emerged. EA couples experienced distress when both hostile (Conflictual-Hostile) and nonhostile conflict (Conflictual-Expressive) communication types were observed, while only hostile conflict was associated with distress for the H/L group. H/L couples reported similar levels of satisfaction in both the Harmonious and Conflictual-Expressive groups. H/L couples also fell within the distressed range when withdrawn communication patterns were observed; however, this was not the case for EA couples. These differences suggest that both types of conflict are associated with marital distress for EA couples, whereas hostile conflict and withdrawn behavior appear to be more negatively associated with marital satisfaction in H/L couples. Results provide support for the use of an observational coding system with H/L and EA couples and also suggest the importance of understanding how differences in expressions of conflict across ethnicities may relate to marital satisfaction.     

Neuroticism and Marital Satisfaction During the Early Years of Chinese Marriage: The Mediating Roles of Marital Attribution and Aggression

On the basis of three annual waves of data obtained from 268 Chinese couples, we tested an actor–partner interdependence mediation model in which spouses’ neuroticism was linked to their own and partners’ marital satisfaction through both intrapersonal processes (i.e., marital attribution) and interpersonal processes (i.e., marital aggression). Considering intra‐ and interpersonal processes simultaneously, four indirect, mediating pathways were identified: Time 1 Wives’ Neuroticism → Time 2 Wives’ Attribution or Aggression, while controlling for Time 1 Wives’ Attribution or Aggression → Time 3 Wives’ or Husbands’ Marital Satisfaction, while controlling for Time 1 Wives’ or Husbands’ Marital Satisfaction. This study not only adds to a limited body of research examining why neuroticism is associated with conjugal well‐being, but also extends prior research by focusing on Chinese couples and utilizing a longitudinal, dyadic mediation model. Such findings have important practical implications. Couples involving neurotic partners may benefit from interventions based on cognitive‐behavioral approaches. When working with couples challenged by neuroticism, practitioners need to help them address dysfunctional interactive patterns as well as distorted cognitive styles.     

An Attribution Theory Analysis of Romantic Jealousy

Two studies examined the utility of attribution theory (B. Weiner, 1985, 1995) in explaining romantic jealousy responses. In Study 1, by varying hypothetical scenarios according to Weiner's attribution distinction (B. Weiner, 1995), 156 undergraduates perceived jealousy to increase when an unfaithful partner's interaction with interlopers was deliberate (i.e., personal causality), controllable, intentional, and without mitigating excuses. High trait jealousy amplified these ratings but did not affect the underlying attribution relationships. Reversing the attribution-to-jealousy linkage in Study 2, 128 participants from the general population recalled jealousy episodes in their lives, then made attributions for the events and categorized them using Weiner's dimensions (B. Weiner, 1985). Jealousy was more likely when the cause of a partner's indiscretion was perceived to be internal, controllable, and intentional—although not necessarily stable. The findings verify that attribution theory identifies blame conditions that trigger jealousy responses.     

Certifying Juveniles for Adult Court: An Attribution Analysis1

Certification is the process whereby older juveniles who have committed felony offenses are transferred from juvenile courts to adult courts. The present study examined the variables that influence decisions in these cases and used attribution theory to conceptualize the process. Data were obtained from files of 150 youths on whom certification petitions had been filed from January 1981 to October 1984. Of these, 125 had been certified and 25 had not. The sample comprised 148 males and 2 females. Data included seriousness of the offense, previous offenses, potential for aggressiveness, level of involvement in the offense, age, court in which the case was heard, year in which the case was heard, IQ, family income and sex. Level of involvement, seriousness of the offense and potential for aggressiveness had the strongest association with certification outcomes, with those high on these measures significantly more likely to be certified. The cluster that predicted outcomes best included level of involvement, seriousness of the offense, potential for aggressiveness, IQ, year in which the case was heard, court in which the case was heard, sex and previous offenses. The most explicitly behavioral variable—how actively the child participated in the offense—was the best single predictor of outcomes.     

Social Change and Marital Problems: Implications for Marriage Counselling

There are many reasons why people experience marital dissatisfaction. This paper is concerned with those who experience dissatisfaction not as a result of individual personality problems but as a result of the impact of social change on contemporary marriage. On the whole, these people are emotionally mature even if they present, initially, with 'clinical' symptoms. The paper identifies the effect of social change on such couples and suggests an approach to marriage counselling designed specifically to meet their needs. Background material is provided by a study of 40 couples seen for marriage counselling in a psychiatric clinic.     

Marital Problems Occurring in Midlife: Implications for Couples Therapists

The ability of therapists to adequately address the presenting problems of couples impacts the process and outcome of therapy. Although research has examined the types of problems that couples commonly experience, little is known about problems among midlife couples. Midlife marital problems were examined using data from a national random sample of 632 married people between the ages of 40 and 50. The results indicated that the most common problems were financial matters, ways of dealing with children, and sexual issues. Values, commitment, spiritual matters, and violence were the least common problem areas. There were few differences when gender, remarriage, and length of marriage were considered.     

Some Implications of a Behavioral Analysis of Verbal Behavior for Logic and Mathematics

The evident power and utility of the formal models of logic and mathematics pose a puzzle: Although such models are instances of verbal behavior, they are also essentialistic. But behavioral terms, and indeed all products of selection contingencies, are intrinsically variable and in this respect appear to be incommensurate with essentialism. A distinctive feature of verbal contingencies resolves this puzzle: The control of behavior by the nonverbal environment is often mediated by the verbal behavior of others, and behavior under control of verbal stimuli is blind to the intrinsic variability of the stimulating environment. Thus, words and sentences serve as filters of variability and thereby facilitate essentialistic model building and the formal structures of logic, mathematics, and science. Autoclitic frames, verbal chains interrupted by interchangeable variable terms, are ubiquitous in verbal behavior. Variable terms can be substituted in such frames almost without limit, a feature fundamental to formal models. Consequently, our fluency with autoclitic frames fosters generalization to formal models, which in turn permit deduction and other kinds of logical and mathematical inference.     

Understanding Forgiveness as Discovery: Implications for Marital and Family Therapy

This article explores the concept of forgiveness in relationship systems and examines various conceptualizations and definitions found in the literature. Forgiveness is described as a complex psychological and relational process that is more a discovery than an act of will. A rationale for viewing forgiveness in a contextual, historical, and relational attachment paradigm is presented, and the association of forgiveness with empathy and emotional intelligence is discussed. Marital and family therapists are encouraged to attend to contextual family of origin issues and to facilitate an empathic relational environment where ambivalence is expected and tolerated for enhancing the process of forgiveness. Relevant clinical cases are shared to illustrate the process of forgiveness as discovery.     

夫妻生活事件、归因方式及其与婚姻冲突的关系

探讨夫妻生活事件、归因方式及其与婚姻冲突的关系。采用方便取样,选取辽阳市已婚完整家庭1～10年的夫妻620对进行调查。结果表明:夫妻报告的前三项冲突领域是家务琐事、不良习惯和交流解决问题方面;妻子和丈夫报告的生活事件解释了婚姻冲突15.4%和11.9%的变异,归因解释了28.7%和24.7%的变异;归因在夫妻报告的生活事件和婚姻冲突中起部分中介作用。     

The Functional Independence of Skinner's Verbal Operants: Conceptual and Applied Implications

Much has been said about B. F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. This commentary specifically focuses on the functional independence of B. F. Skinner's verbal operants. While researchers have long been interested in this topic, the research literature on this topic has produced mixed results; it has shown that the verbal operants may be both functionally independent and functionally interdependent. This commentary considers the conceptual and applied implications of these mixed findings. The distinction between constructs and events is highlighted, with specific attention to how this distinction relates to the consideration of the verbal operants in behavior analysis. The value of further research on the functional independence of the verbal operants is considered, as well as the type of research studies that might be useful toward developing interventions for individuals with language delays. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Marital Functioning and Physical Health: Implications for Social and Personality Psychology

Marriage – the most important adult relationship in most people’s lives – has been theorized to affect biological processes, physical health, and mortality. This article highlights key findings in marriage and health research, focusing on the interpersonal processes through which marriage has been proposed to affect health. A model of marriage and health is presented that incorporates both main and stress-moderating effects of negative marital experiences –marital strain– and positive marital experiences –marital strength. Although many more studies have investigated marital strain than marital strength, current evidence suggests that both have potent effects on biology and health. The article concludes with a discussion of implications of this research for social and personality psychology, focusing on insights that may be gained from basic relationship science. Examples of three areas of relationship research – intimacy processes, commitment processes, and dyadic analysis – and their potential relevance for marriage and health research are presented.     

An Analysis of Schema Theory and Learning Theory as Explanations for Variance in Adolescent Adjustment to Divorce

Learning theory and schema theory were evaluated as possible explanations for the variance found in the adjustment of adolescent children of divorce. Self-report questionnaires were completed by first year Psychology and Economics students at Stellenbosch University. Participants completed Antonovsky's Life Orientation Questionnaire (measuring adjustment); Hudson's CAM and CAF questionnaires (measuring relationships with mother and father, respectively); and a set of questions measuring attitude to divorce; as well as a biographical questionnaire. Schema theory was not supported conclusively, as results showed only limited evidence for attitude to divorce acting as a mediator between the parent-child relationship and the child's adjustment. Results did, however, support learning theory as an adequate explanation for the positive correlations found between parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent adjustment. Knowledge of the importance of learning theory in explaining variance in adolescent adjustment to divorce can increase parents' awareness of their influence on their children's adjustment. This can also be used in the design of therapeutic programs for families going through divorce.     

Symptom Bearer as Marital Distance Regulator: Clinical Implications

Certain families experience conflict in regulating their interpersonal distance because they are afraid of separation and intimacy. A couple that lives in the shadow of this double-ended catastrophe may triangle in a “go-between” to bring them together if they get too far apart, or separate them when they are too close. Ambivalence about the couple's relationship predisposes a family member, often an in-law or child, to be recruited to this role. The “go-between's” ambivalence then becomes the couple's homeostat, and symptoms are likely to appear in this individual. Implications for family therapy are illustrated by the through a full-length case study.     

Separation Versus Connection,The Gender Controversy: Implications for Counseling Women

Traditional developmental theories hold that separation is the primary goal of human emotional development. Numerous current theorists question this notion. They propose that a girl's development of self is dependent on mutually empathic relationships with primary caretakers. This revision of developmental theory has implications for counseling. The counseling relationship with a woman should provide validation for her relational skill and opportunity to practice relational competence within the counseling relationship. Boys and men may also have the need to develop relational competence to secure a strong sense of self. If so, a relational model of counseling would apply to them as well.     

Social-Exchange Theory: Cognitive Restructuring in Marital Therapy

Problems arise in marital relationships when any of the following conditions are not met: first, that the couple have correspondence of their beliefs, or rules, as to what behaviors constitute “value messages” or “devalue messages”; second, that they depend primarily upon nonpainful channels for sending and receiving value messages; and third, that each partner's required quota of value messages from the other be of a reasonable quantity, not inflated by unrealistic fear of abandonment or devaluation. Problems in any of these areas may present in a variety of seemingly disparate fashions. Each of these problems is amenable to cognitive restructuring strategies. Different demands are placed on the therapeutic alliance and the marital alliance by the elucidation of each of these three types of problems; proper timing of interventions is therefore necessary.