Explores variation between first marriages and remarriages in the incidence of spouse abuse. Experiences of individuals prior to remarriage account for higher rates of spouse abuse in remarried families, regardless of complexity, than in intact, never-divorced families. (Author/ABL)

Excerpts are presented from a counseling session in which parents of a brain damaged nine-year-old struggle with issues of depression, anger, and resentment compounded by lack of communication with each other. They faced conflicts over their son's actual capabilities and the dreams they had had for him. (CL)

Investigated three types of extramarital relations in married and cohabiting subjects (N=378): (1) emotional (in love) but not sexual (intercourse); (2) sexual but not emotional; and (3) emotional and sexual. Results showed that 43 percent of the subjects indicated having at least one of the defined extradyadic relations. (LLL)

Estimates the effects of welfare on marital dissolution and remarriage. Data from females indicated that those who received AFDC, food stamps, or other public assistance dissolved their marriages more frequently than those not receiving welfare. The relationship between welfare and marital dissolution decreased somewhat as duration of marriage…

Examines the relationship between premarital cohabitation and marital dysfunction a sample spouses in two marriage cohorts: those married between 1964 and 1980 (when cohabitation was less common) and those married between 1981 and 1997 (when cohabitation was more common). Spouses in both cohorts who cohabited prior to marriage reported poorer…

Comments on Heim and Snyder (1991) study which explored interaction between marital discord and spouses' attributions in predicting depression. Suggests that attributional theory model may set up reductionistic research stance, potentially separating what depressed people think from their circumstances and history and implying linear relationship…

Heim and Snyder respond to Ettinger et al.'s comments in previous article concerning Heim and Snyder's 1991 study exploring interaction between marital discord and spouses' attributions in predicting depression. Discusses findings and reiterates complex and recursive relationships among marital difficulties, depression, cognitive processes, and…

Of marriages in 1972, fewer joint remarriages than first marriages ended in divorce. Within specific age/sex groupings (e.g., men 20 to 24 years old), more remarriages than first marriages ended in divorce. Difference occurred because couples entering remarriages were older than those entering first marriages and divorce rates declined with…

Examined prevalence and determinants of stable unhappy marriage using data from national survey. Results indicated age, lack of prior marital experience, commitment to marriage as an institution, low social activity, lack of control over one's life, and belief that divorce would detract from happiness were all predictive of stability in unhappy…

Compared conflictual marital interactions of 17 physically aggressive, 15 verbally aggressive, 18 withdrawing, and 15 low-conflict couples to describe behavior patterns characteristic of couples who report different marital conflict styles. Physically aggressive couples were characterized by reciprocity of hostile affect and by rigid, contingent…

Examines how much attention males and females pay to positive and negative information about their marriages as a function of their belief that the marriage is either in trouble or basically satisfactory. Participants (N=121) viewed and responded to videotapes of couples discussing their problems. Female participants attended more than male…

We describe a distress prevention training program for couples and three empirical studies that support its effectiveness. The program, Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET), is based both upon stress and coping theory and research on couples. In addition to traditional elements of couples programs (e.g., communication and problem-solving…

Professionals generally believe that couples who choose to attend marriage education programs are not as distressed as are clinical couples and that distressed couples are not good candidates for marriage education. We examined these assumptions in 129 married couples who enrolled in a PAIRS, Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills…

Using 3 subsamples of remarried respondents (n=1,583, 971, and 926) in the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, this study investigates how different types of cohabitation, especially postdivorce cohabitation, affect the timing and quality of remarriage in the United States. Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis…

Marital conflict was examined as a predictor of the quality and quantity of sleep in a sample of healthy 8 to 9 year-olds. Parents and children reported on marital conflict, the quantity and quality of children's sleep were examined through an actigraph worn for 7 consecutive nights, and child sleepiness was derived from child and mother reports.…