The main purposes of this study are to examine the effects of the psychoeducation programme structured on Masnavi stories based on positive psychology, prepared by the researcher, on marital harmony to improve this through a psychoeducational programme and to increase their satisfaction with life. The research was an experimental study based on…

Family practitioners come from many walks of life and may include students, provided they are sufficiently prepared or supported through hands-on learning experiences. In this study, we report the outcomes of community different-sex couples who participated in a free, six-week, student-facilitated Marriage Enrichment Workshop between 2015 and…

We examined the utility of naive ratings of communication patterns and relationship quality in a large sample of distressed couples. Untrained raters assessed 10-min videotaped interactions from 134 distressed couples who participated in both problem-solving and social support discussions at each of 3 time points (pre-therapy, post-therapy, and…

This study examined the basic utility of topic models, a computational linguistics model for text-based data, to the investigation of the process of couple therapy. Linguistic analysis offers an additional lens through which to examine clinical data, and the topic model is presented as a novel methodology within couple and family psychology that…

This study investigated differences in the trajectory of marital satisfaction in the first 7 years between couples in covenant versus standard marriages. The authors analyzed data on 707 Louisiana marriages from the Marriage Matters Panel Survey of Newlywed Couples, 1998-2004, using multivariate longitudinal growth modeling. When the sample was…

Using typologies outlined by Gottman and Fitzpatrick as well as institutional and companionate models of marriage, the authors conducted a latent class analysis of marital conflict trajectories using 20 years of data from the Marital Instability Over the Life Course study. Respondents were in one of three groups: high, medium (around the mean), or…

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,…

This study applies social support theory to the question of whether four types of husband behavior (taking the wife's side, problem solving, ignoring conflict, and taking the mother's side) moderate the association between conflict with the mother-in-law and a Taiwanese woman's marital satisfaction. Data were collected from 125 married Taiwanese…

Using daily diary data from 28 later life couples where one spouse had diabetes and osteoarthritis, we examined crossover effects of target spouses' daily activity limitations and their partners' daily mood. On days when target spouses' daily activity limitations were higher than average, partners' positive mood decreased and negative mood…

This article uses data from the 1973-2006 General Social Survey to assess the interactive impact of race and gender on marital happiness over time. Findings indicate independent and significant effects for both variables, with Whites and husbands reporting greater marital happiness than Blacks and wives. Comparing four subgroups (White husbands,…

Describes common characteristics of 13 cases in which one marital partner initiated therapy because the other partner was undecided about continuing their marriage. Initiating clients wanted their marriages to continue even if they were unrewarding and saw themselves as helpless victims. Clients who could turn their attention from the ambivalent…

Cognitive factors have been shown to play an important role in marital distress. To examine the importance of the self-other distinction for understanding the impact of attributions on marital satisfaction, two studies were conducted. In the first study, causal attributions for naturally occurring behavior by the self and spouse were investigated…

Explored the relationships among masculinity, femininity, and marital satisfaction, and response to behavioral marital therapy in married couples (N=126). Results indicated that for each sex, both femininity and masculinity are significantly correlated with self-reported marital satisfaction. (LLL)

Identified 16 significantly different marital communication practices which distinguished 23 happily married individuals from those undergoing counseling (N=23). Results revealed that happy individuals had significantly more congruency between their self-perceptions and their spouse's perceptions of their communication practices and more congruent…

Presents basic information concerning normal aging that therapists need to understand sources of conflict and distress in older or caregiving couples. Describes unique aspects of assessment and intervention with older couples. Examines marital satisfaction across life span, including factors that alter marital functioning, developmental tasks and…