An empirical couple typology based on differentiation

Both spouses of 100 married, heterosexual couples completed the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire (PAFS-Q). A cluster analysis of the couples' scores on the four intimacy and fusion scales of the PAFS-Q produced four clusters that were meaningfully distinct in the patterns of differentiation of the wives and husbands. Couples comprising these clusters are described in terms of intergenerational theories of family interaction.This paper is based on the master's thesis of the first author submitted to the Graduate School of Texas Woman's University. A presentation based on this work was given at the 1988 annual convention of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The authors thank Glenda Peters and Joe Natale for their contributions to the preparation of this paper. A more extensive report of the methodology and results of this study can be obtained from the second author.     

Poetry in Existential Psychotherapy with Couples and Families

The use of poetry during the process of existential psychotherapy with couples and families is described and illustrated. In this approach, poems can be utilized to help the couple and/or family notice meaning potentials in the future, actualize and make use of such meaning potentials in the here and now, and re-collect and honor meanings previously actualized and deposited in the past.     

Cognitive and marital factors in depression

The current investigation examines three groups of wives: (1) a group of nondepressed, nondiscordant community wives; (2) a group of nondepressed, discordant clinic wives; and (3) a group of depressed, discordant clinic wives. Groups were formed on the basis of structured interview responses and responses to a self-report inventory of depressive symptomatology. To be classified as depressed, wives were required to meet DSM III criteria for depression according to interview data and to exceed a Beck Depression Inventory score of 14. Both clinic groups showed equal levels of marital discord. Both nondepressed groups showed equally few cognitive errors. Accordingly, comparisons of these three groups allow us to test current interpersonal and cognitive theories of depression. The level of closeness in the marriage differentiated the depressed, discordant from the nondepressed, discordant wives despite their equal levels of overall marital discord. The level of depressive symptomatology was greater for the nondepressed clinic wives than it was for the community wives despite their equal levels of cognitive errors. Both closeness in the marriage and cognitive errors accounted for the unique variance in level of depression. Implications for current interpersonal and cognitive accounts of depression are discussed.Support for this research came in part from NIMH Grant 38390-02. Portions of this paper were presented at the 25th Annual Convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy.     

The impact of spouse monitoring on target behavior and recorder satisfaction

The objectives of this study were (a) to determine the impact of a spouse monitoring procedure on the target's (husband's) behavior and the recorder (wife's) view of the marriage and (b) to assess the relationship between the target's positive behaviors and the recorder's marital satisfaction rating. In one condition, husbands were informed that their behavior was being observed, whereas in a comparison group, husbands were kept unaware of the observation procedure. In both conditions, wives kept daily recordings of (a) positive behaviors emitted by their husbands and (b) perceptions of their marital relationships. No differences were found in rates of husbands' behavior or in wives' perceptions of their marriages as a function of the awareness manipulation. Analyses examining the relationship between spouse behavior and daily satisfaction ratings indicated a statistically reliable association, although the majority of variance in satisfaction ratings was attributable to unique subject variables.This article is based on a thesis submitted by the first author to the Department of Psychology of the University of Pittsburgh. The described research was supported in part by a Faculty Research Grant from the University of Pittsburgh awarded to the second author.     

The Marital Communication Rating Schedule: An instrument for clinical assessment

The Marital Communication Rating Schedule (MCRaS) is presented as an observationally based clinical rating system for assessing verbal behavior in marital communication. Data from 35 response display discussions lasting from 20 to 30 min each, which took place between 11 married couples, were used to examine aspects of the reliability and validity of the instrument. Three raters made independent ratings of 37 MCRaS categories for each husband and wife for each discussion period. Reliability among the raters was shown to be high when calculated within one scale point. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing MCRaS ratings for four categories with observationally based validation criteria independently coded and measured. Results indicated that for three categories — negative statements, overgeneralizations, and amount of talk — ratings produced results that were similar to those yielded by laborious coding of audiotapes. For one category, opinions requested, a relationship between the ratings and coded data was not found. The validation results were discussed in terms of possible differences in the basis of ratings for the categories subjected to validation. Although further research is needed, it was concluded that MCRaS has many of the desirable qualities needed in a clinically useful, observationally based rating system.This investigation was conducted in connection with the Sociobehavioral Research Project at The University of Michigan when Joyce Borkin and Claude L. Walter were affiliated with the project.     

父母自主支持对青少年积极情绪适应的影响:基本心理需要满足的中介与调节作用模型

本研究旨在考察父母自主支持对青少年积极情绪适应的影响及其作用机制。采用生活满意度问卷、积极情感消极情感量表、父母自主支持量表、自尊量表以及基本心理需要量表对1912名初中生被试进行调查。结果表明：（1）父母自主支持对青少年生活满意度、积极情绪、自尊和基本心理需要满足有显著正向预测作用;（2）基本心理需要满足在父母自主支持对青少年生活满意度、自尊和积极情绪影响中的中介作用显著;（3）基本心理需要满足在父母自主支持与积极情绪、生活满意度之间起着调节作用。本研究结果揭示了基本心理需要满足在父母自主支持和积极情绪适应之间的“双重作用”。     

Emotion Regulation and Middle School Adjustment in Japanese Girls: Mediation by Perceived Social Support

Prior research has stated that successful emotion regulation (ER) contributes to psychological health and favorable interpersonal relationships. However, few studies have explored adaptive ER strategies in a school setting. The present study targeted Japanese female adolescents and examined the relationship between two specific ER strategies (reappraisal and suppression) and school adjustment, with social support as a mediating variable. Two hundred and seventy Japanese middle school girls completed measures of ER, perceived social support, and subjective school adjustment. The results showed that school adjustment was highest among reappraisers, followed by a balanced group who used both strategies with equal frequency, then suppressors. In addition, reappraisal showed both direct and indirect effects on school adjustment, while suppression showed only a negative indirect effect on school adjustment. Our findings suggest that reappraisal is an effective strategy that promotes receiving social support and consequently enhances school adjustment. Suppression, on the other hand, has neither favorable nor harmful impacts on school adjustment, but may, in the long run, result in poorer adjustment by impairing social relationships among adolescent girls.     

高中生羞怯与学校适应的关系:同伴依恋的中介作用及年级差异

目的:考察高中学生羞怯、同伴依恋与学校适应之间的关系及其年级差异。方法:以中学生羞怯量表、同伴依恋量表以及学校适应量表为研究工具,从潍坊市两所高中抽取12个班共计605名高中生进行问卷测查。结果:(1)高中生羞怯与同伴依恋、学校适应呈显著负相关; 同伴依恋与学校适应呈显著正相关。(2)同伴依恋在高中生羞怯和学校适应之间起部分中介作用,但同伴依恋在高一学生中中介作用显著,而在高二和高三学生中,这种中介作用不显著。     

Dyadic coping mediates the relationship between parents’ grief and dyadic adjustment following the loss of a child

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to examine forms of dyadic coping (DC) as mediators of the association between parents’ grief response and dyadic adjustment and to determine whether these indirect effects were moderated by the child’s type of death, timing of death, and age.

Design: The study design was cross-sectional.

Method: The sample consisted of 197 bereaved parents. Participants completed the Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale, Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and Dyadic Coping Inventory.

Results: Significant indirect effects of parents’ grief response on dyadic adjustment were found through stress communication by oneself and by the partner, positive and negative DC by the partner, and joint DC. The timing of death moderated the association between grief response and dyadic adjustment and between joint DC and dyadic adjustment. Grief response was negatively associated with dyadic adjustment only when the death occurred after birth. Grief response was negatively associated with joint DC, which, in turn, was positively associated with dyadic adjustment, when the death occurred both before and after birth. However, the association was stronger in the latter.

Conclusions: Specific forms of DC might be mechanisms through which grief response is associated with dyadic adjustment and should be promoted in clinical practice.     

Effective interactions: Communication and high levels of marital satisfaction

Of all the significant relationships in the lives of human-beings, the marital relationship remains one of the most central and important to their well-being. For this rapid review the authors accessed four online databases (PsycINFO, PsychARTICLES, JSTOR Journals, and ScienceDirect) to examine the evidence on aspects of communication which contribute to high levels of marital satisfaction and to synthesise these findings. The search yielded 103 unique articles, of which 15 were ultimately included. Principal results found the following activities to relate to high marital satisfaction: 1) communication activities such as engaging in small talk and providing verbal and non-verbal messages of affection; 2) “positive” exchanges which include any interactions perceived by both parties as constructive; 3) effective conflict management including the use of responses of recalibration and reaffirmation (R-R response), the use of we-pronouns, and the Listener-Speaker technique; 4) possessing and implementing effective communication skills such as using “I” instead of “you” messages; and 5) using “positive” communication skills such as clarification to elicit “positive” affect such as feeling understood. The evidence suggests that mental health professionals working with married couples should seek to promote quality dyadic communication as part of treatment interventions.