Nonverbal communication accuracy in married couples: Relationship with marital complaints.

48 recently married couples (aged 20–31 yrs) individually viewed and described their reactions to slides in 5 categories (e.g., sexual, scenic, and unpleasant); videotapes of their facial expressions were then shown to their spouses, who were asked to match the expressions to the appropriate picture categories. Ss also completed the Communication of Affect Receiving Ability Test. Based on social penetration theory, it was predicted that (1) couples cohabiting longer would be better at decoding their partners' nonverbal expressions than couples cohabiting a shorter time, (2) Ss married to accurate nonverbal communicators would evidence fewer marital complaints, and (3) Ss with fewer marital complaints would be better nonverbal communicators. Data suggest that nonverbal decoding abilities do not covary with relationship length, although spouses were better at decoding their partners' expression than were a panel of judges. Nonverbal sensitivity to one's spouse did not covary with marital complaints, although an internal analysis suggested that wives' ability to decode husbands' poorly encoded messages covaried negatively with both his and her complaints. Husbands married to wives who were good encoders had fewer complaints, whereas the reverse was true for the relationship between husbands' encoding abilities and wives' complaints. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathology in married couples.

Reviews research studies dealing with psychopathology in married couples. Topics included are (a) incidence of mental disorders among the various marital status groups, (b) neurosis and psychosis in marital partners, (c) disturbance in marital interaction, and (d) the patient's spouse. The incidence of mental disorders is lower in married couples than in any other marital status group. When mental disorders do occur among the married, both partners are likely to manifest some degree of disturbance. The spouse is affected not only by the partner's disorder but also by the partner's treatment and hospitalization. Marital interaction may contribute to the development of psychopathology in married couples, but most of the findings in this area tend to be nonspecific and of a post hoc nature. (3 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The efficacy of a compact psychoeducational group training program for married couples.

There is a lack of psychoeducational programs for married couples who, although subjectively concerned about their marriages, do not seek marital therapy. In this study, the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral program delivered on a weekend by 2 trainers for groups of 4 couples was investigated. Couples (n?=?67) were recruited by newspaper announcements, then randomly assigned to the intervention program or a waiting-list control group. The program consisted of communication and problem-solving training, couples' discussions to clarify their relationship expectations, and exercises to enhance their sensual or sexual relationship. At postassessment, intervention couples emitted more positive verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors during a conflict discussion task than did control couples, who reported significantly more relationship problem areas and displayed more negative communication behaviors. At the 1-year follow-up, intervention couples reported fewer problem areas in comparison with preassessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal predictors of dieting practices among married couples.

The relations between couples' marital quality and dieting behavior were examined. One-hundred eighty-seven married couples' dieting behaviors, marital quality, body mass index, weight concerns, depression, and self-esteem were assessed. Results indicate that the relation between healthy dieting behaviors and marital quality is similar for both husbands and wives. However, among wives, marital discord predicted unhealthy dieting behaviors, even after wives' body mass index, weight concerns, self-esteem, and depression were controlled for. Furthermore, wives' self-esteem interacted with marital quality when predicting unhealthy dieting. These findings suggest gender differences in the relations between marital quality and dieting behaviors and are consistent with previous research suggesting that men and women have differential response patterns to marital disharmony, with women tending to internalize negative affect experienced in their marriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarity in married couples: A longitudinal study of mental abilities and rigidity-flexibility.

Longitudinal changes in couple similarity on the Primary Mental Abilities and the Test of Behavioral Rigidity were studied over 7-year intervals from 1956 to 1984 in 169 couples from the Seattle Longitudinal Study. Positive, initial intraclass spousal correlations were significant for verbal meaning, inductive reasoning, word fluency, educational aptitude, intellectual aptitude, attitudinal flexibility, psychomotor speed, and social responsibility, as well as age and education. After age and education had been controlled, significant increases in spousal similarity were found for verbal meaning and intellectual ability over 14 years and for attitudinal flexibility over 21 years. The higher functioning spouses' word fluency influenced the lower functioning spouses' verbal meaning and word fluency over time. Couples who became more similar over time involved husbands in higher occupations and wives with fewer changes in profession (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role complementarity versus similarity in married couples.

Surveyed 108 Australian married couples about the effect of sex roles on their marital happiness. Questionnaires included the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Measures of the sex-role orientation and happiness of each partner with the relationship permitted an evaluation of the similarity and complementarity hypotheses as well as an assessment of the general compatibility of sex-role combinations. Results provide substantial evidence for the importance of femininity in relationships; the happiness of the husband was positively related to the wife's femininity, and the happiness of the wife was positively related to the husband's femininity. Couples in which both partners were high on femininity (androgynous and feminine) were far happier than were couples in which at least one of the partners was low on this dimension. Although similarity of both masculinity and femininity between partners was associated with happiness, the complementarity hypothesis was convincingly refuted in terms of both happiness and choosing a partner. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict resolution in distressed and nondistressed married couples.

Compared the communication interactions of 12 maritally distressed and 12 nondistressed (as determined by the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test) couples while they engaged in conflict resolution tasks. Analyses of ratings from 2 behavioral observation systems (Interpersonal Behavior Rating System and the Coding Scheme for Interpersonal Conflict) indicated that distressed couples made significantly more negative and fewer positive cognitive and problem-solving acts. Sequential analyses showed that distressed couples evidenced more reciprocity of negative communications as compared with nondistressed couples. The influence of individual spouse, couple type, and other experimental factors on communication patterns were quantified using multivariate analyses. The relationships of these findings to the etiology and treatment of marital distress are discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional style and attributional patterns among married couples.

Explored whether couples develop an attributional style in explaining marital behavior. Results demonstrate that spouses vary greatly in the extent to which they develop an attributional style in this area. Development of an attributional style is correlated with marital distress. Investigators have assumed that simultaneous attributional ratings across several attributional dimensions best characterize the attributions that spouses make for marital events. Yet almost all studies to date have considered each attributional dimension separately. The current investigation explored whether meaningful attributional patterns across dimensions were discernible for marital events. Findings indicate that such patterns do exist and are psychologically interpretable, and support the hypothesis that distressed spouses tend to maximize negative partner behaviors while minimizing positive partner behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the interpersonal behavior of married couples.

Self- and observer reports were used to assess performance frequencies of 800 acts in a sample of 93 married couples over a 3-mo period. Although numerous sex differences were found with respect to each data source, only 69 acts showed significant sex differences across both data sources. Subsequently, these 69 acts were factor analyzed separately for the 2 data sources to identify the major dimensions of sex difference. Four clear and comparable factors emerged from the 2 analyses: Coercive-Manipulative, Communal, Flashy Attire, and Initiative. The California Psychological Inventory Femininity scale correlated highly with most composites for the total sample, suggesting considerable predictive power in identifying dimensions of sex difference. The Extended Personality Attribute Questionnaire scales correlated strongly with the factor composites within sex, but less so for the total sample. Results are discussed in terms of strategies for assessing sex differences in interpersonal behavior, alternative foci of convenience for different masculinity and femininity scales, and the use of multiple data sources to transcend single-source limitations. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shared experiences and the similarity of personalities: A longitudinal study of married couples.

Do spouses become more similar over time? What processes contribute to enduring similarities between them? Using the 20-yr Kelly Longitudinal Study of couples, no support for the hypothesis that couples increasingly resemble each other with time was found. Rather, couples maintain the same degree of similarity across 20 yrs. Structural equation analyses suggest that the shared environmental experiences of couples play a significant role in maintaining these similarities over time. The authors distinguish the shared marital environment from the shared rearing environment and consider developmental and dynamic-relational factors that moderate the relative importance of nonshared and shared environmental experiences in life-span personality development. Whereas nonshared influences in one's family of origin contribute to development in childhood and adolescence, shared influences in one's family of destination may contribute a great deal to development in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimacy maturity and its correlates in young married couples.

Intimate relationships, like the individuals who participate in them, are conceived of as following developmental processes. Five dimensions of intimacy—relationship orientation, caring–concern, commitment, sexuality, and communication—are identified, and an approach to assessing relationship maturity on each of these dimensions is described. In a study of 31 young married couples, scores on each dimension of intimacy maturity were analyzed in relation to gender, gender role (as assessed through an adaptation of the Bem Sex Role Inventory), and scores of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. There were no significant differences between husbands and wives on any of the intimacy or marital adjustment scales and only a marginal difference on 1 gender role scale (agency). Patterns of correlations among intimacy, marital adjustment, and gender role scores varied by gender. Not only do there appear to be 2 marriages (his and hers) in every marriage (as suggested by J. Bernard [1982]), but the correlates of these marriages also vary. (58 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Channel consistency and inconsistency in the communications of married couples.

48 married couples were videotaped while they discussed their relationship. The conversation was divided into thought units (basically speaker turns), and each unit was coded 4 times. Positive messages were used more by Ss with high and moderate levels of marital adjustment (MAD) (as measured by the short Marital Adjustment Test), whereas negative messages were used more by Ss low in MAD. Neutral messages were used more by males than females, particularly among the low-MAD Ss. Over all adjustment levels, neutral messages were used more in the verbal channel, positive messages were used less in the verbal channel, and negative messages were used less in the verbal and visual channels. The most frequently occurring discrepancies were those with positivity in the visual channel and negativity in the verbal or vocal channels, particularly the vocal channel. The percentage of discrepancies involving positivity in the visual channel and negativity in the vocal channel increased linearly from the high- to low-MAD Ss, with females generally using more of these communications than males. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The complementary need hypothesis in newlyweds and middle-aged married couples.

Middle-aged couples were characterized as reflecting similar needs, one to the other, whereas the findings with regard to newlyweds was inconclusive as to their similarity or complementary nature. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4IQ94M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Profiles of successful aging in middle-aged and older adult married couples.

The study identified coupled profiles of successful aging in middle-aged (n = 139; wives, M = 43.8 years old; husbands, M = 45.6 years old) and older adult married couples (n = 148; wives, M = 62.0 years old; husbands, M = 64.4 years old). Latent profile analysis was applied to variables reflecting the domains of cognition, physical health, personality, and social support. A 2-profile solution and a 4-profile solution were interpreted. Both solutions indicated that a large group of couples scored favorably across domains of successful aging. A small group of largely middle-aged couples who were experiencing extreme marital distress was identified. Unevenness across domains was identified, in that some groups involved a disassociation between marital satisfaction and health outcomes. Spouses were substantially similar in the pattern of their profile of aging. Older adults were not always associated with less favorable profiles. Profiles of successful aging did discriminate on external measures of well-being. The results point to the value of a multidimensional notion of successful aging in couples across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multivariate hierarchical model for studying psychological change within married couples.

This article illustrates new statistical methods for the study of psychological change in married couples. The design involves time-series data on each partner. The analysis combines longitudinal methods for studies of individual change with cross-sectional methods for the study of matched pairs. Each person is viewed as changing over time as a function of an individual growth curve or change function. As in previous studies of individual change, a person's trajectory depends on time-invariant personal background characteristics and time-varying changes in the environment. However, unlike typical studies of individual change, a person's changing psychological profile depends, in part, on the influence of that person's partner. These methods apply directly to other types of longitudinal studies on families (e.g., studies that use teacher and parent reports of a child's social behavior). The methodology is flexible in allowing randomly missing data, varying spacing of time points, unbalanced designs, and time-varying and time-invariant covariates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From vigilance to violence: Mate retention tactics in married couples.

Although much research has explored the adaptive problems of mate selection and mate attraction, little research has investigated the adaptive problem of mate retention. We tested several evolutionary psychological hypotheses about the determinants of mate retention in 214 married people. We assessed the usage of 19 mate retention tactics ranging from vigilance to violence. Key hypothesized findings include the following: Men's, but not women's, mate retention positively covaried with partner's youth and physical attractiveness. Women's, but not men's, mate retention positively covaried with partner's income and status striving. Men's mate retention positively covaried with perceived probability of partner's infidelity. Men, more than women, reported using resource display, submission and debasement, and intrasexual threats to retain their mates. Women, more than men, reported using appearance enhancement and verbal signals of possession. Discussion includes an evolutionary psychological analysis of mate retention in married couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory and depressive symptoms are dynamically linked among married couples: Longitudinal evidence from the AHEAD study.

This study examined dyadic interrelations between episodic memory and depressive symptom trajectories of change in old and advanced old age. The authors applied dynamic models to 10-year incomplete longitudinal data of initially 1,599 married couples from the study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (Mage = 75 years at Time 1). The authors found domain-specific lead–lag associations (time lags of 2 years) among wives and husbands as well as between spouses. For memory, better performance among husbands protected against subsequent memory decline among wives, with no evidence of a directed effect in the other direction. For depressive symptoms, wives’ scores predicted subsequent depression increase and memory decline among husbands. Possible individual covariates (age, education, functional limitations) and spousal covariates (length of marriage, number of children, and whether the couple remained intact over the study period) did not account for differential lead–lag associations. The findings of antecedent–consequent relations between wives and husbands are consistent with life-span notions that individual development both influences and is influenced by contextual factors such as close social relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative reciprocity and communication in couples with a violent husband.

To better understand the relationship dynamics of couples experiencing husband-to-wife violence, the interaction patterns of 29 domestically violent (DV), 15 distressed but nonviolent (DNV), and 13 happily married (HM) couples were examined using the Marital Interaction Coding System and lag sequential analyses. DV spouses were generally more often aversive and less often facilitative than nonviolent couples. DV couples were significantly more likely to engage in negative reciprocity than their DNV or their HM counterparts. DV wives were as likely as their husbands to reciprocate negative behavior. Furthermore, no support was found for a negative reinforcement hypothesis that husbands' aversiveness was shaped or maintained by wives' capitulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarity, convergence, and relationship satisfaction in dating and married couples.

The current work investigates how personality and interpersonal processes combine to predict change in relationship quality. Measures of personality and emotion similarity were collected during laboratory interactions from a cross-sectional sample of dating couples (Study 1) and a 1-year longitudinal study of newlywed married couples (Study 2). Results showed that emotion similarity mediated the association between personality similarity and relationship quality (Studies 1 and 2) and that emotion convergence mediated the association between personality convergence and relationship satisfaction (Study 2). These results indicate that similarity and convergence in personality may benefit relationships by promoting similarity and convergence in partners' shared emotional experiences. Findings also lend support to models that integrate partners' enduring traits and couples' adaptive processes as antecedents of relationship outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three-year follow-up of same-sex couples who had civil unions in Vermont, same-sex couples not in civil unions, and heterosexual married couples.

This study was a 3-year follow-up of 65 male and 138 female same-sex couples who had civil unions in Vermont during the 1st year of that legislation. These couples were compared with 23 male and 61 female same-sex couples in their friendship circles who did not have civil unions and with 55 heterosexual married couples (1 member of each was a sibling to a member of a civil union couple). Despite the legalized nature of their relationships, civil union couples did not differ on any measure from same-sex couples who were not in civil unions. However, same-sex couples not in civil unions were more likely to have ended their relationships than same-sex civil union or heterosexual married couples. Compared with heterosexual married participants, both types of same-sex couples reported greater relationship quality, compatibility, and intimacy and lower levels of conflict. Longitudinal predictors of relationship quality at Time 2 included less conflict, greater level of outness, and a shorter relationship length for men in same-sex relationships and included less conflict and more frequent sex for women in same-sex relationships at Time 1. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)