Offers an overview of couples' complaint behavior by describing complaint types, response types, complaint-response sequencing, and the environment in which such complaining occurs. Examines differences in reported complaint behavior between males and females and between satisfied and dissatisfied couples. (RAE)

Investigated the interactions of married couples at play with infant sons and daughters. Found that maritally distressed parents of boys more commonly displayed hostile-competitive coparenting behavior, whereas distressed parents of girls were more likely to show discrepant levels of parenting involvement. Findings also indicate the importance of…

A case study of Relationship Enhancement (RE) therapy with a couple, in which the woman was identified as having vaginismus, is presented including excerpts of transcripts from the therapy sessions. RE's effectiveness at improving communication skills and providing structure in which the couple could discuss the intimate issues affecting the…

Used national, longitudinal data from two generations to assess explanations for intergenerational transmission of marital instability, one based on relationship skills and the other on marital commitment. Results suggest that offspring with divorced parents have an elevated risk of seeing their own marriages end in divorce because they hold a…

Compared a sample of spouses of workaholics and spouses of nonworkaholics on ratings of marital estrangement, positive feelings toward husband, and locus of control. Spouses of workaholics reported greater marital estrangement and less positive affect towards husbands and higher external locus of control than did spouses of nonworkaholics. (BF)

The current study evaluated Couple CARE, a flexible delivery relationship education program. Fifty-nine couples were randomly assigned to either Couple CARE or a control condition and assessed on relationship self-regulation, satisfaction and stability, and communication. Retention, engagement, and satisfaction with the program were all high. As…

Sixty married couples participated in a study of the effects of husbands' gender role conflict on outcomes for wives. Hypothesized relationships between husbands' gender role conflict and wives' marital adjustment and depressive symptoms were supported. Hostile and dominant behaviors were recorded by outside raters viewing videotaped segments of…

This study examined the role of men's breadwinner status and their gender ideologies in shifting the breadwinning boundary. Data come from a 3-wave panel survey of 522 married men in 1980, 1983, and 1988. A strong effect of men's breadwinner status on their ideologies is found in 1983 but not in 1988, whereas the reversed pattern holds for the…

This study addresses three questions: Does earlier family mobility have long-term effects on later parent-adult offspring relations? Do differences in parenting behaviors and family social capital account for these effects? Does the family structure in which a move occurs matter? The author investigates these issues using 17-year longitudinal data…

In accordance with McLoyd's model of African American children's development, we examined the linkages among family income, maternal psychological distress, marital conflict, parenting, and children's outcomes in early and middle childhood, using a sample of 591 African American children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Income…

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…

An assessment of the "demography" of two forms of sexual behavior, marital intercourse and extramarital involvement, is presented. Findings suggest the sexual behavior of males and females is largely contextual. The more severe the marital strain, the lower the frequency of marital coitus and the more likely is extramarital involvement. (Author)

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…

A tri-ethnic study of blacks, whites, and Chicanos was employed to determine the contributions of children to marital satisfaction and stability together with differences in fertility. These variables were found to be significantly related to ideal and expected family size. (Author)

This article tests the hypothesis that the socioeconomic structure of a country influences the family phases and through these changes has an effect on divorce rates. The interpretations are based on contrasting aggregate data of European countries, which were divided into two groups according to their degree of industrialization. (Author)