Interspousal reliability of reports of marital violence.

Examined interpersonal reliability on reports of marital violence. 65 couples beginning marital therapy and 37 couples from the community participated. Husbands and wives had average ages of 35 and 32 yrs, respectively. Each S completed a version of the Conflict Tactics Scale on which they were asked to report on their own use of physically abusive behavior as well as their partner's use of such behaviors in the past 12 mo. Agreement between partners on the occurrence of violence was low to moderate for both the clinic and the community sample. Clinic husbands tended to underreport their own violent behavior, and/or clinic wives tended to overreport the violence performed by husbands. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal relations between marital aggression and alcohol problems.

Relations between couples' (N = 158) marital aggression and alcohol problems were examined across a two-year period. Alcohol problems and aggression were assessed via self-report and partner-reports. Results support bidirectional relations between marital aggression and problem drinking. T1 wife problem drinking was associated with decreased T2 verbal aggression; T1 husband problem drinking was associated with increased T2 physical aggression. T1 physical aggression predicted increased T2 wife problem drinking; it predicted increased T2 husband problem drinking only when wife problem drinking was low. T1 verbal marital aggression predicted increased T2 husband problem drinking only when husbands engaged in greater problem drinking at T1. Results suggest that problem drinking may prevent couples from adequately handling marital disagreements, and that marital problems may lead to drinking as a form of coping with stress; couples in which the husband engages in greater problem drinking than the wife may be at increased risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Operant-interpersonal treatment for marital discord.

Operant-interpersonal treatment of marital discord is premised on the assumption that successful marriages differ from unsuccessful marriages in frequency and range of reciprocal positive reinforcements exchanged. Behavior change objectives are clarified, and a 4-step treatment approach culminating in an exchange of positive responses on a reciprocal basis is suggested. The treatment of 4 couples complaining of low-rate conversational and sexual behavior is summarized, stressing the use of a token system as a prosthesis to facilitate the transition to increased positive reinforcement. (32 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for marital and relationship discord.

Based on recent findings suggesting that marital discord is taxonic (i.e., that couples in discordant relationships differ qualitatively, and not just quantitatively, from couples in nondiscordant relationships), this study was designed to develop a brief screening measure for detecting the relationship discord taxon. A national, representative sample of 1,020 married couples completed the Marital Satisfaction Inventory—Revised. Data from this sample were used to create a 10-item screening measure. Using the cut scores from the original study that found evidence of taxonicity as a point of reference, the 10-item screen demonstrated good diagnostic performance in assessing the relationship discord taxon. Taxon classification based on the brief scale demonstrated good short-term stability. The scale is easily administered and scored, making it appropriate for use in clinical and research settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The legacy of parents' marital discord: Consequences for children's marital quality.

Drawing on a national longitudinal study of 297 parents and their married offspring, the authors found that parents' marital discord was negatively related to offspring's marital harmony and positively related to offspring's marital discord. The transmission of marital quality was not mediated by parental divorce, life-course variables, socioeconomic attainment, retrospective measures of parent–child relationships, or psychological distress. Offspring's recollections of parental discord, however, mediated about half of the association between parents' reports of marital discord and offspring's reports of discord in their own marriages. Parental behaviors most likely to predict problematic marriages among offspring included jealousy, being domineering, getting angry easily, being critical, being moody, and not talking to the spouse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical violence and other forms of marital aggression: Links with children's behavior problems.

Two studies examined whether physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression (e.g., threats, throwing objects) correlate with children's behavior problems in families marked by recent spousal violence. Study 1 included 55 families seeking marital therapy. Study 2 included 199 families at battered women's shelters. In the marital therapy sample, both physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with children's externalizing problems. In the women's shelter sample, physical violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with children's externalizing and internalizing problems. After accounting for the frequency of physical marital violence, forms of marital aggression other than physical violence still related to children's externalizing problems in the marital therapy sample and to children's internalizing problems in the women's shelter sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problem solving and contingency contracting in the treatment of marital discord.

Randomly assigned 10 married couples reporting dissatisfaction with their relationships to an experimental treatment group and a minimal treatment waiting-list control group. The experimental treatment consisted of training couples to interact more positively and behave more efficiently when engaged in problem solving, and teaching them to make written contingency contracts. The groups were compared both on observational and self-report measures. In addition, each couple in the treatment group served as a separate single-S experiment; data collected by spouses at home were subjected to analyses using multiple baselines. On all group measures, the group receiving treatment improved significantly more than the control group. Similarly, most of the multiple baselines corroborated the group comparisons and revealed that desirable behavior changes did occur and that these changes were a function of treatment manipulations. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of marital discord on young children's peer interaction and health.

Reports an investigation of the effects of marital discord on the peer interactions and physical health of preschool children. A sample of families that ranged widely in marital satisfaction and had a 4- to 5-yr-old child participated in several home and laboratory sessions involving marital, parent-child, and peer (with a best friend) interaction. Obtained observational, self-report, and physiological indices. Hypothesized that the ability to regulate emotion would be disrupted in children from maritally distressed homes and that this would result in poor child outcomes. Found support for a path-analytic model correlating the child outcomes of the child's level of play, negative peer interaction, and physical health, using marital satisfaction, the parents' physiology during marital interaction, observations of parent–child interaction, the child's physiology during parent–child interaction, indices of emotion during the directed facial action task, and urinary assays of catecholamine endocrine variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal prediction of marital discord from premarital expressions of affect.

Theoretical and empirical analyses suggest that affective features of dyadic communication bear importantly on relationship satisfaction. A circumplex model that originated in research on the structure of affect was first replicated using data from premarital problem-solving discussions. Negativity, Positivity, and Disengagement emerged as the 3 primary factors. Multiple regression analyses, controlling for premarital relationship satisfaction, showed affective Disengagement at premarriage to be negatively associated with marital satisfaction at 18 (n?=?84) and 30 (n?=?72) mo after marriage. Negativity of premarital affective expression correlated negatively with premarital satisfaction (n?=?88) but not with postmarital satisfaction. Two variables formed by combining affect factors contributed to the prediction of 30-mo marital satisfaction. Elements associated with current marital satisfaction appear to differ from those associated with later marital satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in children's appraisals of marital discord from childhood through adolescence.

The study examined how children's appraisals of marital conflict (threat and self-blame) changed across development, whether changes in exposure to marital conflict were associated with corresponding changes in appraisals, and whether the appraisal process was different for boys and girls. Data were collected on 112 families (224 children) at 4 time points. At each wave, children (mean ages ranged from 8 to 19) provided information on their appraisals of marital conflict, and parents provided information on children's exposure to marital conflict. Results indicated that appraisals of threat declined rapidly from childhood to adolescence and then declined less rapidly across adolescence; appraisals of self-blame showed little change over time. Second, changes in exposure to marital discord covaried with changes in threat over time, but not with changes in self-blame. Finally, boys experienced more self-blame than girls on average, and gender moderated the association between exposure to marital discord and threat. Results suggest that development, exposure to marital conflict, and gender are important in determining why some children appraise their parents' disputes negatively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spouses' reasons for not reporting existing marital aggression as a marital problem.

Questionnaires and clinical interviews reveal that over 60% of couples seeking marital therapy experience physical violence in their relationship. However, fewer than 10% of these couples spontaneously report or identify the violence as a presenting problem. Spouses' explanations for not spontaneously reporting couple violence were examined in 136 clinic couples. The top 3 reasons were as follows: (a) It is not a problem, (b) it is unstable or infrequent, and (c) it is secondary to or caused by other problems. There were no gender differences in this regard. Further, there were no differences regarding explanations offered for failure to report partner violence versus own violence. However, differences were found between mildly and severely aggressive spouses and between husband-to-wife and wife-to-husband violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between marital distress and child behavior problems, maternal personal adjustment, maternal personality, and maternal parenting behavior.

Examined the relationship of marital adjustment to maternal personal adjustment, maternal personality, maternal perception of child adjustment, maternal parenting behavior, and child behavior using 20 maritally distressed and 20 maritally nondistressed mothers and their children (aged 3–7 yrs). Ss were given a battery of tests that included the Beck Depression Inventory, the Trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Personality Research Form—Form A. Results indicate that, compared to mothers in the maritally nondistressed group, mothers in the distressed group perceived themselves as significantly more anxious and depressed and perceived their children as having significantly more behavior problems, particularly in the area of undercontrol. There were no differences between the groups with respect to maternal personality. Maritally distressed mothers showed less appropriate parenting behavior than did nondistressed mothers and the children of maritally distressed mothers were more deviant than were children of nondistressed mothers. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical aggression and marital dysfunction: A longitudinal analysis.

Shortly after marriage, 56 couples provided data on physical aggression and other predictors of marital adjustment. At 6-month intervals over the next 4 years, spouses reported on their marital quality and stability. Results indicated that marital dysfunction was more common among aggressive than among nonaggressive couples (70% vs. 38%) and among severely aggressive than among moderately aggressive couples (93% vs. 46%). Aggression remained a reliable predictor of marital outcomes after the authors controlled for stressful events and negative communication. These findings help to refine developmental models of marital dysfunction, which often overlook the role of aggression, and can provide information for prevention programs for marital distress, which typically do not distinguish between aggressive and nonaggressive couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective associations between marital discord and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults.

Data from both spouses in a population-based sample of middle-aged and older adults (N = 1,869 couples) were used to evaluate the 2-year prospective association between marital discord and depressive symptoms. Nested path analyses indicated that (a) baseline marital discord predicted one's own depressive symptoms at follow-up, (b) baseline depressive symptoms predicted one's own marital discord at follow-up, (c) baseline depressive symptoms predicted partners' marital discord at follow-up, and (d) there were no gender differences in the magnitudes of the pathways between one's own baseline depressive symptoms and one's own marital discord at follow-up or between one's own baseline marital discord and one's own depressive symptoms at follow-up. These results suggest a bidirectional longitudinal association between marital discord and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trajectories of change in physical aggression and marital satisfaction.

Physical aggression and marital satisfaction were assessed in 172 newlywed couples annually over the first 4 years of marriage to examine (a) stability of aggression over time and (b) the degree to which fluctuations in aggression precede versus follow fluctuations in marital satisfaction. The stability of aggression varied as a function of initial levels of severity; spouses who were most aggressive early in marriage had greater fluctuations in aggression. Rates of change in aggression predicted changes in satisfaction more than dissatisfaction predicted aggression. Husbands' physical aggression predicted marital discord, whereas wives' aggression predicted marital dissolution. By indicating that aggression (a) is a precursor to adverse marital outcomes and (b) varies across spouses in initial levels and in patterns of temporal change, the present findings highlight the need to understand the contextual factors that govern within-person and within-couple fluctuations in intimate violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with marital aggression in male alcoholics.

Male alcoholics who were physically aggressive toward their wives in the year before alcoholism treatment (n?=?71) were compared with nonaggressive counterparts (n?=?36). Two key patterns were associated with marital aggression: (a) binge drinking linked with coercive marital conflicts and (b) markers of a severe early onset alcoholism syndrome. Maritally aggressive men were younger and exhibited more binge drinking, higher prevalence of arrest, more verbal aggression, greater alcohol problem severity, earlier alcohol problem onset, more alcoholism among male biological relatives, less maternal alcohol use, less confidence in their ability to manage interpersonal conflict without drinking, and stronger beliefs that alcohol causes marital problems. Marital adjustment levels were not associated with marital aggression, and very few differences were found between moderate and severe violence groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congruence of parental perception, marital satisfaction, and child adjustment.

Fathers and mothers of 95 children 5–7 yrs old completed the Short Marital Adjustment Test, Interpersonal Checklist, and the Children's Behavior Checklist to assess marital satisfaction, congruence of self- and mate-perceptions, and agreement in parents' perceptions of their child and child adjustment, respectively. All variables were significantly, positively intercorrelated. Strongest association was between congruence in parents' perceptions of the child and child adjustment. Similarity in partners' self-concepts and psychological empathy were significantly associated with marital satisfaction and child adjustment. A general dimension of family harmony (vs conflict) is seen as contributing to children's social adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methodological errors in marital and child treatment research.

Discusses common methodological errors in child and marital treatment research and presents suggestions to help investigators avoid such errors. The following areas are covered: selection of Ss and therapists, scope and source of dependent measures, treatment specification, experimental design, and data analysis and interpretation. Some of the most salient errors include (a) unsubstantiated diagnoses or client labels; (b) very few therapists per treatment condition; (c) restricted outcome criteria and the lack of reliable, valid dependent measures; (d) failure to provide treatment manuals and to check empirically whether the treatments were actually implemented; and (e) experimental designs that fail to address issues such as maturation, expectation, nonspecific relationship factors, and practical significance. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent–child interaction, television violence, and aggression of children.

Summarized and integrated results of 2 large-scale longitudinal studies (L. D. Eron, see PA, Vol 38:2452; Eron et al, in press). The relationship between TV violence and aggression in Ss was corroborated in 2 different geographical areas of the US and was found to hold for both boys and girls. The causal effect is circular, with TV violence affecting S's aggression and aggressive Ss watching more violent TV. Contributing increments to a S's level of overt aggression were popularity, intellectual ability, aggressive fantasy, extent of physical punishment, rejection by parents, and the tendency of parents to endorse attitudes and behaviors often seen in sociopathic individuals. It is shown that it is possible to intervene to attenuate the relationship between TV violence and aggression with simple tuitional procedures that supercede the influence of the parent variables studied. Important intervening variables in the TV violence–aggression relationship are S's identification with aggressive characters and the extent to which S believes TV portrays reality. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal associations between parents' hostility and siblings' externalizing behavior in the context of marital discord.

This study examined longitudinal associations between parents' hostility and siblings' externalizing behavior in the context of interparental discord. The sample included 116 families (mothers, fathers, 2 siblings) assessed in middle childhood, when siblings were, on average, 8 and 10 years old, and in adolescence, at average ages of 14 and 16 years. Parents reported on their hostility toward each child and on each child's externalizing problems. Raters observed interparental hostility, and parents rated their marital quality. Results indicated both within-family and between-families effects. Specifically, the child who received more parental hostility than his or her sibling showed greater increases in externalizing problems than his or her sibling; this association was moderated by marital discord. In addition, the child who exhibited more behavioral problems than his or her sibling received greater increases in hostile mothering than did his or her sibling. Between-families effects were evident, in that children's externalizing problems were associated with increases in mothers' hostility toward both children in the family. Results support transactional models of development and family systems theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)