Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT) posits that emotional reactions to a partner's behavior can be as important to the relationship as the behavior itself. This study examined whether acceptance (a) is distinct from relationship sentiment, (b) mediates the link between a partner's behavioral frequency and own relationship satisfaction,…

Explored the effects of spouses' wake and sleep patterns on marital adjustment in couples (n=150). Couples whose wake and sleep patterns were mismatched reported significantly less marital adjustment, more marital conflict, less time spent in serious conversation, less time spent in shared activities and less frequent sexual intercourse.…

This study was conducted to examine the moderating effects of attributions on the relationship between marital satisfaction and marital violence. It was predicted that distressed spouses who made more maladaptive attributions for partner behavior would be more likely to engage in marital violence than would distressed spouses who offered fewer…

The family has been identified as one of the primary potential support systems, with marriage as the key relationship within the family system. Multi-generational research has pointed out the central importance of the middle generation in maintaining the complex family system functioning. This study was designed to enhance understanding of…

Examined the negative impact of economic hardship on a spouse's marital instability in White, middle-class couples (N=76). The results indicated economic pressures had an indirect association with married couples' evaluation of the marriage by promoting hostility in marital interactions and curtailing the warm and supportive behaviors spouses…

Compared interactions of 11 dissatisfied and 11 satisfied couples on basis of trained observers' ratings of spouses' behavior through time on 3 scales: withdrawn/involved, hostile/friendly, and displeasure/pleasure. Dissatisfied coupled evidenced significantly lower mean ratings of hostility and displeasure, but no differences in withdrawal.…

Observed 42 couples during emotional interactions: each spouse discussed an upsetting incident unrelated to the marriage. Results showed the proportion of approval or caring behavior expressed was directly related to marital adjustment. Overall, negative behavior appeared to inhibit the probability of subsequent expressions of complaints by…

Compared communications patterns and conflicts over psychological distance in 25 nondistressed couples, 15 clinic couples, and 22 divorcing couples. Compared with nondistressed couples, both distressed groups had less mutual constructive communication, more avoidance of communication, more demand/withdraw communication, and more conflict over…

The stereotype of the "drunken bum" wife abuser has a long history in American culture. U.S. population surveys document a positive correlation between alcohol consumption levels and marital violence. In this study risk factors for marital violence among treatment seeking male alcoholics were examined. Subjects were couples (N=107) who had a newly…

Compares two divorce prone men with two marriage phobic men. Marriage phobic men were fearful of getting married and used avoidance as a means of coping. Divorce prone were self-centered, hard driving, and reckless using acting out to manage conflict. Both groups were wary of the opposite sex and needed to be in control of relationships.…

Examined factors that influenced the concordant perceptions of 28 distressed and 28 nondistressed husbands and wives and trained coders who observed samples of their own and another couple's problem solving. Correlational analyses suggested greater insider-outsider perceptual agreement for distressed than nondistressed couples and for negative…

Examined how spousal behaviors related to global and daily marital satisfaction. Eighty-two couples completed daily checklists of spousal behaviors for seven days using an individualized or a standardized assessment method. Daily behavioral event measures were significantly related to global and daily measures of marital satisfaction,…

Examined whether spouses' attributions for partner behavior are related to their behavior by assessing their attributions and observing the problem-solving discussions of cohabitating couples (n=52) in which neither spouse was depressed or distressed, the wife was depressed and both spouses were distressed, and the wife was not depressed and both…