Investigates the association among dysfunctional relationship beliefs, problem-solving responses, and satisfaction in close relationships. Finds that persons who believe that disagreement is destructive and that partners cannot change are likely to leave or neglect a troubled relationship, to avoid voicing their concerns, and to report lower…

A study investigated the relationships between conflict message strategy utilization and the criterion variables of communication satisfaction and interpersonal solidarity in situations of interpersonal conflict. Subjects were 114 college students and their "willing" conversational partners. Each subject completed a questionnaire…

Reveals that individuals personally cope with spoiled relationships and socially manage relationship dissolution principally through verbal accounts. Indicates that the structural and affective enmeshment of marital couples lend to their disengagement accounts a characteristic complexity not paralleled in the accounts of unmarried couples. (JD)