grace white, b.s. erika lawrence, ph.d university of iowa

Grace White, B.S.Erika Lawrence, Ph.D

University of Iowa

Introduction Marital distress and dissolution are

significant problems in today’s society

Marital distress and dissolution lead to child problems, individual adult psychological problems, and individual adult physical health problems (Harvey & Anh, 2001)

IntroductionTreatments have had limited success

Prevention might be a better approach

Purpose of the present study is to test a novel, discriminating, integrated approach to predicting marital outcomes

Marital Stability vs. Marital Satisfaction

Marital stability & marital satisfaction had been considered a single outcome (Gottman, 1992)

Marital stability addresses whether or not the marriage remains intact/stable across time

Marital Stability vs. Marital Satisfaction

Marital satisfaction addresses whether or not partners are happy/satisfied in the marriage

Conceptualization as single outcome could not explain dissatisfied couples with stable/intact marriages

Recent research has conceptualized as two distinct outcomes

Positive & Negative Behaviors as Distinct Factors

Marital literature has largely focused on negative interaction behaviors in the deterioration of relationship

Some researchers have begun to argue for the importance of studying positive behaviors (Gottman, 1996; Carrere & Gottman, 1999, Pasch & Bradbury, 1998).

Additionally looking at interactions outside of conflict settings may also provide important information about relationship

Positive & Negative Factors Differentially Predict

•Research has shown that reciprocation of low intensity negative affect is a significant predictor of marital instability (Gottman et al., 1998)

Couples who later divorced showed significantly more negative emotions early in conflict interactions (Carrere & Gottman,1999)


•Personality variables like hostility and neuroticism have significantly discriminated between couples who separated or divorced after 5 years (Rogge et al., 2006)

• Independent of conflict behavior, positive behavior, especially amount of supportive behavior exhibited has been predictive of less marital stress (Fincham, 2003).


•Positive affect has been repeatedly shown to be associated with marital satisfaction and happiness (Fincham, 2003; Gottman, 1994; Gottman et al. 1998). Gottman

and colleagues (1998)

•There is a paucity of research examining the relation between positive behavior/affect and marital outcomes

Present Study: Aims(1) Assess the affect expressed in social

support and problem-solving interactions

(2) Assess the relationship between expressed affect and marital satisfaction and stability

(3) Assess the relationship between personality and marital satisfaction and stability.

Present Study: Hypotheses(1) positive affect expressed during interaction tasks

would be predictive of marital satisfaction

(2) expressed negative affect would predict marital dissolution

(3) negative personality traits such as neuroticism and hostility would also predict divorce

(4) positive personality traits would predict marital satisfaction

Present Study: MethodParticipants

Recruited through marriage license records in suburban Midwestern town

Newlywed couples 18-50 (first marriage both spouses)

105 couples in first wave of data Mostly Caucasian (95% husbands; 94% wives)Couples dated an average of 48 months (SD=

27.79) prior to marriage77% of couples cohabitated before marriage

Present Study: MethodProcedure

Time 1 (3-6 months of marriage), participating couples completed questionnaires at home

Couples then came into the laboratory for support & conflict tasks; paid $100 for participation at Time 1.

Times 2-4 (9-12 months, 21-24 months, and 30-33 months of marriage, respectively), couples completed questionnaires at home. Couples were paid $50 at each time point for Times 2-4.

Present Study: MethodMeasures

Negative Behavior/Affect SPAFF interaction CTS-2-psych, physical, and sexual aggression TNS (Test of Negative Social Exchange)-psych

aggression PANAS-negative affectivity SNAP-negative temperament AQ-hostility


Positive Behavior/Affect SS interaction PANAS-positive affectivity Marital Coping Inventory (MCI; Bowman)** AFC (The Affective Communication Scale of

Snyder’s MSI)** PSC (The Problem Solving Scale of Snyder’s MSI)**


Marital Satisfaction Marital Adjustment Test (MAT) Time 1-4 Kansas Marital Survey (KMS) Time 1-4 Quality of Marriage Index (QMI) Time 1-3

grace white, b.s. erika lawrence, ph.d university of iowa

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