This paper considers the common association between marital problems and depression and describes the cognitive and behavioral factors which are common to these two problems. A set of cognitive behavioral interventions is presented, a treatment procedure which addresses cognitive and behavioral factors at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels…

Although research suggests that marital communication is causally related to marital satisfaction, the processes by which marital communication style affects marital relationships have not been identified. These communication styles (conventional, speculative, controlling, contactful) are based on the degrees of self-disclosure and openness to the…

The Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) is a potential instrument for differentiating couples with specific sexual distress from those with more general marital complaints. Couples (N=45) expressing primary complaints of dissatisfaction with their sexual relationship and couples (N=45) expressing primary complaints of generalized marital distress…

Patterns of relationships among the variables of pregnancy status at marriage, marital dissolution probabilities, residence and migration status, and race were ascertained. The data source was the 1967 Survey of Economic Opportunity, a large national probability sample expanded to U.S. population parameters. Relationships among these variables…

This study examined young children's affective distress and behavioral responses to parental marital conflict. Forty-eight 4-year-olds and their parents participated in the study. Mothers and fathers independently completed measures of marital conflict, children's reactions to marital conflict, and child behavior problems, while the children…

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…

Data from two research studies in Newfoundland, Canada are summarized. The first study examined divorced persons and their family patterns. It was found that numbers and timing of children did not affect marital stability, and neither did whether children were born before or during the current marriage. But whether the children were planned had a…

Throughout continuing higher education there has been a surge of concern for the returning student (housewife), but the returning student (divorcee) is usually left without needed supportive services to nurture her return to the mainstream. The newly-single female is a crisis-strengthened and weakened mutation, unable to return to her former self…

This paper considers the effects of martial disruption on families and the associated risks to children. It discusses opportunities for reducing risk and fostering the psychological well-being of children and families, through research, carefully designed interventions, and proactive social policies. A theory of resilience as cumulative competence…

Presented at the National Conference of the Forum for Death Education and Counselling, Washington, 1978, this paper explores the effects of childhood malignancy on family dynamics. Problem areas include marital difficulties, forgotten siblings, and the necessity of alternating between a "sick" and "well" world. Constructive approaches are…

The study interviewed 41 middle school children (25 gifted and the remainder of average ability) from intact and not intact homes to gather their perceptions of divorce's effects on school now and in the future. Results included the following statements. Differences in responses centered around the subject's cognitive abilities, more than on…

According to social-psychological theory, violent acts in a marital relationship can be understood by examining environmental stressors and violent acts spouses experienced as children. Because there is a great variety in the type and frequency of abuse suffered by battered women, it is important to examine abuse type and abuse frequency…

This paper examines the impact of individual and family life transitions on marital relationships from a social exchange perspective. The first section of the paper reviews and integrates several social exchange perspectives, derived from both sociological and social psychological traditions, in particular the works of Thibaut and Kelly (1959),…

Recently, research has been conducted using an interactional understanding of depression, which views depression as a disorder exacerbated by a pathogenic social system. The interaction between intimate social partners seems especially relevant. Couples (N=26) participated in a study of depressed out-patients and their spouses and a matched…