Attachment style,communication patterns,and satisfaction across the life cycle of marriage

Questionnaire measures of attachment, communication patterns, and relationship satisfaction were administered to 361 married couples, sampled across the life cycle of marriage. Individuals who were secure in attachment (defined in terms of comfort with closeness and low anxiety over relationships) tended to be paired with secure spouses. Security of attachment was associated with one's own relationship satisfaction, although husbands' satisfaction was related primarily to the anxiety dimension. The most consistent effect of partners' attachment was an inverse relationship between wives' anxiety and husbands' satisfaction. The negative effect of wives' anxiety on perceived relationship satisfaction (for both partners) was evident primarily for couples in which husbands were uncomfortable with closeness. The association between attachment dimensions and relationship satisfaction was largely mediated by communication patterns for wives, but only partially mediated by communication patterns for husbands; for both husbands and wives, a measure of mutually constructive communication emerged as the strongest correlate of satisfaction. These findings were generally consistent across the life cycle of marriage, and they are important in clarifying the nature of the link between attachment and satisfaction in a broad sample.     

Intact Marriages in Which One Partner Dis-Identifies with Experiences of Same-Sex Attraction: A Follow-Up Study

This study is a one-year follow-up study of heterosexually married couples in which one partner reports having experienced same-sex attraction and both partners report satisfaction with their marriage despite facing such constraints. Questionnaires were sent to 32 individuals who had participated in the initial study. Of these, 30 returned completed questionnaires. The questionnaires contained open-ended questions about the participants' experiences, motivations, coping behaviors, and so on. Analysis suggested a number of themes related to vulnerability to extramarital relationships, coping activities, and satisfaction with marriage. Suggestions for clinical practice include exploring sexual identity issues, maintaining communication, and monitoring emotional connection in the marital dyad.     

Marriage Education in the Army: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial

Although earlier studies have demonstrated promising effects of relationship education for military couples, these studies have lacked random assignment. The current study evaluated the short-term effects of relationship education for Army couples in a randomized clinical trial at two sites (476 couples at Site 1 and 184 couples at Site 2). At both sites, participant satisfaction with the program was high. Intervention and control couples were compared on relative amounts of pre-intervention to post-intervention change. At Site 1, not all variables showed the predicted intervention effects, although we found significant and positive intervention effects for communication skills, confidence that the marriage can survive over the long haul, positive bonding between the partners, and satisfaction with sacrificing for the marriage or the partner. However, at Site 2, we found significant and positive intervention effects for communication skills only. Possible site differences as moderators of intervention effects are discussed.     

Marital Processes Linking Gender Role Attitudes and Marital Satisfaction Among Mexican‐Origin Couples: Application of an Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model

Informed by dyadic approaches and culturally informed, ecological perspectives of marriage, we applied an actor–partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM) in a sample of 120 Mexican‐origin couples to examine (a) the associations linking Mexican immigrant husbands’ and wives’ gender role attitudes to marital satisfaction directly and indirectly through marital processes (i.e., warmth and negativity) and (b) whether the associations between spouses’ gender role attitudes and marital processes were moderated by wives’ employment. Although previous research has identified spouses’ gender role attitudes as potential predictors of spouses’ marital satisfaction, no study has examined these links in a dyadic model that elucidates how gender role attitudes may operate through processes to shape marital satisfaction and conditions under which associations may differ. We found that when spouses reported less sex‐typed attitudes, their partners reported feeling more connected to them and more satisfied with the marriage, regardless of whether wives were employed. Our results suggest that marital satisfaction was highest for those Mexican‐origin couples in which marital partners were less sex‐typed in their attitudes about marital roles to the extent that partners’ attitudinal role flexibility promoted spouses’ feelings of warmth and connection to their partner.     

An observational study of humor use while resolving conflict in dating couples

This research focused on whether affiliative and aggressive humor use was associated with relationship satisfaction and with greater perceived closeness, problem resolution, and emotional distress following a conflict discussion task. Ninety‐eight dating couples from a large Texas University participated in this research. Both partners independently completed questionnaires about their relationship perceptions, participated in a videotaped conflict resolution task, and then answered some additional questions. The results revealed that individuals whose partners used more affiliative and less aggressive humor during the discussion were more satisfied with their relationship and reported an increase in perceived closeness and better problem resolution following the discussion. These results highlight the importance of both positive and negative forms of humor in the regulation of close relationships.     

Adolescents' use of affiliative and aggressive strategies during conflict with romantic partners and best-friends

Objective: Developmental theory suggests romantic relationships present unique demands when adolescents transition from the interaction patterns of same-sex friendships to cross-gender interactions. A possible response is to incorporate behaviours of the other gender: girls adopting aggressive strategies and boys adopting affiliative ones. The goal of this study is to explore this hypothesis by comparing conflict resolution among romantic couples and same-sex best friends. Method: Observational methods were employed with 37 female best friends, 22 male best friends and 37 romantic couples. Of the romantic couples, 35 also were observed with a best friend. Affiliative and aggressive behaviours were tabulated during two conflict tasks. Results: Female best friends were more affiliative than male best friends and romantic partners; these latter dyads were more aggressive than the female best friends. Within group comparisons indicated that boys and girls decreased their affiliative behaviours, especially verbal humour, and increased their aggressive behaviours, especially teasing, when observed with the romantic partner compared to the best friend. Decomposing the romantic dyad, girlfriends displayed relatively more aggressive behaviours than their boyfriends, and boyfriends exhibited more affiliative behaviours. Conclusions: Findings shed light on gendered shifts in patterns of interaction as adolescents transition from same-sex friendships to romantic relationships.     

The effects of marriage education for army couples with a history of infidelity

While existing literature has begun to explore risk factors which may predict differential response to marriage education, a history of couple infidelity has not been examined to determine whether infidelity moderates the impacts of marriage education. The current study evaluated self-report marital satisfaction and communication skills in a sample of 662 married Army couples randomly assigned to marriage education (i.e., PREP) or a no-treatment control group and assessed prior to intervention, post intervention, and at 1 year after intervention. Of these, 23.4% couples reported a history of infidelity in their marriage. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that having a history of infidelity significantly moderated the impact of PREP for marital satisfaction, with a trend for a similar effect on communication skills. However, couples with a history of infidelity assigned to PREP did not reach the same levels of marital satisfaction after intervention seen in the group of couples without infidelity assigned to PREP, although they did show comparable scores on communication skills after intervention. Implications of these findings for relationship education with couples with a history of infidelity are discussed.     

夫妻问题解决和社会支持、依恋安全性与婚姻质量的关系

以41对新婚夫妻为研究对象,采用观察法与问卷法相结合的方式,对夫妻冲突和支持、依恋安全性和婚姻质量之间的相互机制进行探索。结果显示：（1）妻子的婚姻质量更受到问题解决情境中（而不是社会支持）夫妻的积极行为（而不是消极行为）的影响;丈夫的婚姻质量更受到社会支持情境（而不是问题解决）中夫妻的消极行为（而不是积极行为）的影响;（2）妻子的依恋安全性显著预测妻子的婚姻质量,但丈夫的依恋安全性不能显著预测丈夫的婚姻质量;（3）妻子的依恋安全性在丈夫和妻子的问题解决积极行为对妻子婚姻质量的影响中起完全中介作用,而丈夫的依恋安全性在夫妻问题解决、社会支持行为与丈夫婚姻质量的关系之间不起作用。     

Marital Problems and Marital Satisfaction Among Brazilian Couples

As the practice of marriage and family therapy is spreading across the world, it is important for knowledge regarding marital processes and patterns to expand to countries outside of North America and Europe. This study examined common marital problems faced by Brazilian couples. The sample consisted of 80 married couples living in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Results showed that money, children, jealousy, and sex were common problems faced by Brazilian couples. There were few gender differences found. Sex and alcohol had a significant impact on marital satisfaction of wives, and sex had a significant impact on marital satisfaction of husbands.     

Marital Adjustment and Irrational Beliefs

The present study was designed to determine which aspects of Ellis' irrational beliefs as well as emotional traits (anxiety, curiosity, anger) differentiate couples attending marriage counseling from couples couple not attending marriage counseling as well as levels of marital satisfaction in couples as measured by the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. Participants were 61 married couples, 18 of whom were attending marriage counseling and 43 who were not attending marriage counseling. Each partner completed a number of self-report questionnaires containing items measuring irrational /rational beliefs, anger, anxiety and curiosity, and communication skills. Correlational and multiple regression analyses indicate support for Albert Ellis' proposition concerning the importance of individual partner's emotional traits and accompanying irrational beliefs in marital adjustment and dissatisfaction. Self-downing and need for comfort were the dimensions of irrational thinking most strongly related to marital dysfunction. Anger, anxiety but neither curiosity nor communication skills distinguished individuals experiencing or not experiencing marital problems. Implications for relationship counseling are briefly discussed.     

Gender,Affiliation, and Control in Physician–Patient Encounters

This study investigates the effects of physician gender and communication styles on participant responses to physicians. Participants were 146 mostly low-income students (50% Caucasian, 50% African-American) who each viewed one of four videotapes of physicians varying in communication style (affiliative, controlling) and gender (male, female). The affiliative communication style evoked the greatest levels of participant satisfaction, trust, self-disclosure, and compliance. Physician gender did not significantly affect these variables. Participants' recall of medical information showed an interaction: When the physician was male, participants recalled more when he was controlling than when he was affiliative; when the physician was female, communication style did not affect participant recall. Results suggest that physician communication style is more important than gender in determining patient response.     

Why do even satisfied newlyweds eventually go on to divorce?

Although divorce typically follows an extended period of unhappiness that begins early in marriage, some couples who are very happy throughout the first several years of marriage will also go on to divorce. This study aimed to identify risk factors early in marriage that distinguish initially satisfied couples who eventually divorce from those who remain married. We identified 136 couples reporting stably high levels of relationship satisfaction in the first 4 years of marriage. We compared the couples who went on to divorce by the 10-year follow-up with the couples who remained married on initial measures of commitment, observed communication, stress, and personality. Divorcing couples displayed more negative communication, emotion, and social support as newlyweds compared with couples who did not divorce. No significant differences were found in the other domains, in relationship satisfaction, or in positive behaviors. Overall, results indicate that even couples who are very successful at navigating the early years of marriage can be vulnerable to later dissolution if their interpersonal exchanges are poorly regulated. We speculate that, paradoxically, the many strengths possessed by these couples may mask their potent interpersonal liabilities, posing challenges for educational interventions designed to help these couples.     

Sowing wild oats: Valuable experience or a field full of weeds?

In this study, the association was explored between the number of sexual partners individuals had in their lifetimes and martial outcomes. The research objective was to test whether the number of sexual partners was associated with sexual quality, communication, relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability, while controlling for relationship length, education, race, income, age, and religiosity, using the two competing theories of sexual compatibility and sexual restraint. The results, with a sample of 2,654 married individuals, indicated that the number of sexual partners was associated with lower levels of sexual quality, communication, and relationship stability, providing support for the sexual restraint theory. Gender was not significantly associated with the patterns in the model but age cohorts did have different patterns.     

Impulsivity,communication, and marital satisfaction in newlywed couples

The authors used a vulnerability–stress–adaptation framework to examine how and why impulsivity affects communication and marital satisfaction in a sample of 100 newlywed couples. We specifically examined the links between impulsivity and perceptions of conflict communication patterns and their associations with marital satisfaction. Using an actor–partner interdependence framework, the results demonstrated that impulsivity was negatively associated with one's own and partner's marital satisfaction. Impulsivity was also negatively associated with constructive communication and positively associated with destructive communication. Furthermore, mediation analyses showed that communication patterns mediated the impulsivity–satisfaction link. Taken together, these findings suggest that impulsivity is likely to lead to lower marital satisfaction, partly through its effect on communication between partners.     

Premarital affect as a predictor of postnuptial marital satisfaction

Although well established with newlywed couples, studies examining the association between affective communication during conflict and later relationship satisfaction yield inconsistent results with premarital samples. The current study reexamined this association with a different method of coding affect observed during discussions of separate male‐ and female‐selected problem topics and contemporary methods for modeling dyadic data. The sample included 32 engaged couples assessed across the transition to marriage. Premarital affect correlated with concurrent and postnuptial relationship satisfaction. Men's and women's premarital affect also predicted changes in women's relationship satisfaction across the transition to marriage when controlling for cohabitation, length of the assessment interval, and age. Implications are discussed in the context of prominent developmental models of marriage and current premarital interventions.     

Effect of Pre-Marriage Counseling on Marital Satisfaction of Iranian Newlywed Couples: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study examined the effect of selected sexual and nonsexual aspects of pre-marriage counseling on the marital satisfaction of Iranian newlywed couples. A sample of 200 couples was divided randomly into two groups, one group receiving ordinary education (the no intervention group, NIG), the other group receiving special education (the intervention group, IG). IG couples attended four lecture sessions given by the researchers consisting of family planning, personal health, different aspects of sexuality, communication and conflict resolution skills. NIG couples attended lectures presented in the normal preparation program, based on just family planning and personal health. All lectures were given a few months prior to marriage, and then marital satisfaction was assessed 4 months after marriage with 40 questions of the ENRICH questionnaire. Final analysis was based on 64 completed questionnaires. The results indicated that, 4 months after marriage, sexual, nonsexual and marital satisfaction in IG was significantly higher than in the control group.     

CORRELATES OF RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION IN LESBIAN COUPLES

This study broadens the construct of intimate relationships to include the experience of lesbian couples. Various psychological variables were assessed in both partners of 275 lesbian couples who considered themselves to be dual career. Because of the paucity of information on lesbian relationships in the literature, considerable attention is first given to describing this sizable sample. Individual and couple scores on each variable were correlated with relationship satisfaction scores. Among individuals, role conflict and personal autonomy were found to correlate negatively with relationship satisfaction, whereas dyadic attachment, power, intimacy, self-esteem, and life satisfaction were all positively correlated with relationship Satisfaction. Although career commitment was not correlated with relationship satisfaction among individuals, differences between partners'levels of career commitment correlated negatively with each partner's relationship satisfaction. The findings counter extant stereotypes regarding lesbian relationships and provide a more accurate basis for developing an heuristic model of intimate relationships among women.     

Neuroticism and marital satisfaction

Thirty happily married and thirty unhappily married couples were examined by means of the MPI questionnaire to test the hypothesis that emotional instability impaired satisfaction in marriage. Unhappily married partners were very significantly higher on neuroticism than happily married partners, but there were no differences in extraversion/introversion. The data suggest that the high neuroticism of the unhappily married partners antedates their marriage.     

Relationships among measures of communication, marital satisfaction and exposure during couples treatment of agoraphobia

The goals of this study were to examine the relationships among measures of couples interactions (satisfaction and communication), and response to treatment within a group of agoraphobic clients and their partners. The treatment included the clients' partners in structured, graduated in vivo exposure practices. Twenty-two clients and their partners completed pre-, mid- and post-treatment assessments. Treatment responders rated themselves and their partners as more communicative regarding the client's fears, at pre- and mid-assessments in comparison to nonresponders; measures of communication related inversely to levels of anxiety reported during exposures, but marital satisfaction did not relate to any measure of exposure. In addition, level of anxiety during exposure differentiated responders from nonresponders; responders experienced a significant reduction in their levels of anxiety. Finally, ratings of frequency of communication at mid-assessment were highly predictive of treatment outcome at post-assessment. The implications from these findings for communication skills training for a subset of couples who enter couples treatment for agoraphobia are discussed.