The Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale was administered to 35 Caucasian, Protestant couples who were married an average of nine years, largely middle class, and lived in Knoxville, Tennessee. Significant correlates of marital adjustment were organized into groups of similar variables. Correlate groups that were the same for the husband and…

Data collected from 161 married couples were analyzed for communication patterns indicative of "domineeringness" and "transactional redundancy" (the degree of randomness contained within a couple's communicative behavior). From this data came the following observations: There is a negative correlation between domineeringness, particularly by the…

Little evidence exists about either the short or long-term effects of coping strategies on the reduction of emotional distress or the lessening of problems. To examine the predictors and effectiveness of four marital coping efforts (negotiation, optimistic comparison, selective ignoring, and resignation), data derived from a panel study of 758…

Longitudinal research has shown that communication deficits (negative interaction) precede the development of relationship distress. To investigate the antecedents of relationship stability and adjustment 31 couples who were seriously considering marriage participated in a longitudinal study. The couples initially completed the Marital Inventories…

Power modes in marital interactions were investigated in a laboratory observation study at the University of New Hampshire in 1975. Married couples (N=78) were the subjects in this study, whose focus was on the power modes (types of power assertion) used by the partners, shifting attention from the much-considered distribution of power in marriage…

In Nigeria, various forms of polygamy and monogamy are practiced; however, monogamy is more or less practiced by many Christians and a greater percentage of younger men. A survey of marital success and failure was conducted with samples of Nigerian Diploma students and selected educated community members. Subjects completed two instruments, the…

Based on previous research on cohabitation and Levinger's model of marital cohesiveness and dissolution, the hypothesis that a higher level of violence exists in ongoing marriages than in ongoing cohabitating relationships was investigated. Data from a national sample of 2,143 adults did not support this hypothesis. Instead the reverse was found,…

Behavioral and perceptual differences among maritally distressed and nondistressed husbands and wives were investigated. Distressed couples beginning marital therapy and nondistressed couples solicited through community newspapers comprised the criterion groups which were matched for major demographic variables. Couples first enacted and then…

This research was conducted at a Canadian suicide prevention center. The object of the study was to find useful information concerning high school students in the perspective of developing a suicide prevention program in the schools. All 23 local high schools contributed to this study on suicidal ideation and behavior. Subjects (N=2,546) responded…

This paper reviews the literature on the role of mediating cognitive factors in marital functioning and satisfaction. Types and patterns of causal attributions of distressed and nondistressed couples are compared and the effectiveness of various intervention models is discussed. The materials also discuss the role of unfulfilled expectations as a…

Guided by the cognitive-contextual theory of J. H. Grych and F. D. Fincham (1990), which emphasizes the importance of children's perceptions of conflict as well as conflict characteristics and contextual factors, this study investigated children's appraisals of various types of simulated marital conflict. Seventy Latino children, aged 7 to 12…

Psychological abuse, defined as behavior that is sufficiently threatening to limit the capacity to work, family and social interactions, and the enjoyment of good physical or mental health can be as damaging to women as physical abuse. To learn more about this behavior a series of open ended interviews was conducted with 25 women who identified…

This paper presents a model or framework of marital adjustment, for both the researcher and the practitioner, which provides description, explanation, and modification, i.e., ways in which the model can be changed that are theoretically connected with the description and the explanation. A typology of relationship processes is proposed which…

Historically, alcoholism has been defined as an individual problem, and as a result, family factors have received little attention. During the past decade, however, a new theoretical-methodological perspective has been introduced which draws upon general systems theory for rationale, family theory for substance, and behavioral psychology for…

Recent studies have investigated the transition of relationships from a more intimate to a less intimate state--the depenetration process. Various phases of interpersonal conflict in the dissolution of marital dyads have been described, and factors indicating that a marriage might be "in trouble" have been identified. Processes that are…