Observation of couple conflicts: clinical assessment applications, stubborn truths, and shaky foundations

Is Low Power Associated with Submission During Marital Conflict? Moderating Roles of Gender and Traditional Gender Role Beliefs

Lower power during marital interactions predicts greater aggression by men, but no research has identified women's response to lower power. We tested whether women who experienced lower situational power during conflict exhibited greater submission, especially if they held traditional gender role beliefs and thus accepted structural gender differences in power. Newlywed couples (Time 1 N = 204 couples) completed questionnaires and discussed an area of conflict 3 times over 3 years. Individuals who perceived lower power during couples' discussions evidenced greater submission, but this effect was more pronounced for wives, especially wives who held traditional gender role beliefs. Among those with traditional gender role beliefs, greater submission together with lower power predicted lower marital adjustment over time. These results highlight that the low power-submission link, and associated implications for marital adjustment, need to be evaluated in the context of power-relevant situations, gender, and broader power-related beliefs about gender roles.

When conflict escalates into intimate partner violence: The delicate nature of observed coercion in adolescent romantic relationships

We investigated how initial conflicts in adolescent romantic relationships escalate into serious forms of conflict, including intimate partner violence (IPV). We focused on whether adolescents' micro-level interaction patterns, i.e., coercion and positive engagement, mediated between conflict and future IPV. The sample consisted of 91 heterosexual couples, aged 13 to 18 years (M = 16.5, SD = 0.99) from a diverse background (42% Hispanic/Latino, 42% White). Participants completed surveys about conflict at Time 1, and they participated in videotaped conflict and jealousy discussions. At Time 2, participants completed surveys about conflict and IPV, and an average daily conflict score was calculated from ecological momentary assessments. Multilevel hazard models revealed that we did not find support for dyadic coercion as a risk process leading to escalations in conflict. However, a higher likelihood of ending dyadic positive behaviors mediated between earlier levels of conflict and a latent construct of female conflict and IPV. Classic coercive dynamics may not apply to adolescent romantic relationships. Instead, not being able to reinforce levels of positivity during conflict predicted conflict and IPV as reported by females. The implications of these findings for understanding coercion in the escalation from conflict to IPV in adolescent romantic relationships are discussed.

Characteristics of U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard couples who use family readiness programs

Use of family readiness programs (FRPs) by military families is not well understood. This work uses the Gelberg-Andersen Behavioral Model to identify characteristics of Reserve and National Guard (R/NG) couples who access FRPs. Data are from Operation: SAFETY, a study of R/NG soldiers and partners. Logistic regression models examined odds of accessing FRPs based on predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Greater length of military service, greater presence of non-military social ties, and civilian partner reports of adequate support during deployment were associated with higher likelihood of accessing FRPs. Results provide information on FRP utilization and may help inform outreach efforts.

Marriage, divorce, and the immune system

This article reviews evidence from several lines of work to describe how marriage and divorce can provoke health-relevant immune alterations, including ways that marital closeness can be perilous for health and divorce can be beneficial. The multiple stresses of a troubled relationship are depressogenic, and the development of a mood disorder sets the stage for psychological and biological vulnerability. Depression provides a central pathway to immune dysregulation, inflammation, and poor health; gender-related differences in depression and inflammation can heighten risk for women compared to men. Sleep and obesity can simultaneously feed off depression as they promote it. In addition, spousal similarities in health behaviors, gene expression, immune profiles and the gut microbiota offer new ways to consider the health advantages and risks of marriage and divorce, providing new perspectives on couples' interdependence, as well as new directions for research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Observed Relationship Behaviors and Sleep in Military Veterans and Their Partners

BACKGROUND

Emerging research has begun to examine associations between relationship functioning and sleep. However, these studies have largely relied on self-reported evaluations of relationships and/or of sleep, which may be vulnerable to bias.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to examine associations between relationship functioning and sleep in military couples. This is the first research to examine associations between observed relationship behaviors and subjective and polysomnographically measured sleep in a sample at-risk for both sleep and relationship problems.

METHODS

The sample included 35 military veterans and their spouses/partners. Marital functioning was coded from a videotaped conflict interaction. Analyses focused on behavioral codes of hostility and relationship-enhancing attributions. Sleep was assessed via self-report and in-home polysomnography.

RESULTS

Greater hostility was associated with poorer sleep efficiency for oneself (b = -0.195, p = .013). In contrast, greater relationship-enhancing attributions were associated with higher percentages of stage N3 sleep (b = 0.239, p = .028). Partners' hostility was also positively associated with higher percentages of stage N3 sleep (b = 0.272, p = .010). Neither hostility nor relationship-enhancing attributions was associated with self-reported sleep quality, percentage of REM sleep, or total sleep time.

CONCLUSIONS

Both partners' positive and negative behaviors during conflict interactions were related to sleep quality. These findings highlight the role that effective communication and conflict resolution skills may play in shaping not only the marital health of veterans and their spouses but also the physical health of both partners as well. Understanding the links between relationship functioning and sleep may be important targets of intervention in the aftermath of war.

Targeting couple and parent-child coercion to improve health behaviors

This phase of the NIH Science of Behavior Change program emphasizes an "experimental medicine approach to behavior change," that seeks to identify targets related to stress reactivity, self-regulation, and social processes for maximal effects on multiple health outcomes. Within this framework, our project focuses on interpersonal processes associated with health: coercive couple and parent-child conflict. Diabetes and poor oral health portend pain, distress, expense, loss of productivity, and even mortality. They share overlapping medical regimens, are driven by overlapping proximal health behaviors, and affect a wide developmental span, from early childhood to late adulthood. Coercive couple and parent-child conflict constitute potent and destructive influences on a wide range of adult and child health outcomes. Such interaction patterns give rise to disturbed environmental stress reactivity (e.g., disrupted sympathetic nervous and parasympathetic nervous systems) and a wide range of adverse health outcomes in children and adults, including dental caries, obesity, and diabetes-related metabolic markers. In this work, we seek to identify/develop/validate assays assessing coercion, identify/develop and test brief interventions to reduce coercion, and test whether changes in coercion trigger changes in health behaviors.

Predicting couple therapy outcomes based on speech acoustic features

Automated assessment and prediction of marital outcome in couples therapy is a challenging task but promises to be a potentially useful tool for clinical psychologists. Computational approaches for inferring therapy outcomes using observable behavioral information obtained from conversations between spouses offer objective means for understanding relationship dynamics. In this work, we explore whether the acoustics of the spoken interactions of clinically distressed spouses provide information towards assessment of therapy outcomes. The therapy outcome prediction task in this work includes detecting whether there was a relationship improvement or not (posed as a binary classification) as well as discerning varying levels of improvement or decline in the relationship status (posed as a multiclass recognition task). We use each interlocutor's acoustic speech signal characteristics such as vocal intonation and intensity, both independently and in relation to one another, as cues for predicting the therapy outcome. We also compare prediction performance with one obtained via standardized behavioral codes characterizing the relationship dynamics provided by human experts as features for automated classification. Our experiments, using data from a longitudinal clinical study of couples in distressed relations, showed that predictions of relationship outcomes obtained directly from vocal acoustics are comparable or superior to those obtained using human-rated behavioral codes as prediction features. In addition, combining direct signal-derived features with manually coded behavioral features improved the prediction performance in most cases, indicating the complementarity of relevant information captured by humans and machine algorithms. Additionally, considering the vocal properties of the interlocutors in relation to one another, rather than in isolation, showed to be important for improving the automatic prediction. This finding supports the notion that behavioral outcome, like many other behavioral aspects, is closely related to the dynamics and mutual influence of the interlocutors during their interaction and their resulting behavioral patterns.

The Promise and the Challenge of Technology-Facilitated Methods for Assessing Behavioral and Cognitive Markers of Risk for Suicide among U.S. Army National Guard Personnel

Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death for Americans in 2015 and rates have been steadily climbing over the last 25 years. Rates are particularly high amongst U.S. military personnel. Suicide prevention efforts in the military are significantly hampered by the lack of: (1) assessment tools for measuring baseline risk and (2) methods to detect periods of particularly heightened risk. Two specific barriers to assessing suicide risk in military personnel that call for innovation are: (1) the geographic dispersion of military personnel from healthcare settings, particularly amongst components like the Reserves; and (2) professional and social disincentives to acknowledging psychological distress. The primary aim of this paper is to describe recent technological developments that could contribute to risk assessment tools that are not subject to the limitations mentioned above. More specifically, Behavioral Signal Processing can be used to assess behaviors during interaction and conversation that likely indicate increased risk for suicide, and computer-administered, cognitive performance tasks can be used to assess activation of the suicidal mode. These novel methods can be used remotely and do not require direct disclosure or endorsement of psychological distress, solving two challenges to suicide risk assessment in military and other sensitive settings. We present an introduction to these technologies, describe how they can specifically be applied to assessing behavioral and cognitive risk for suicide, and close with recommendations for future research.

Modeling the complexity of dynamic, momentary interpersonal behavior: Applying the time-varying effect model to test predictions from interpersonal theory

This paper demonstrates a recently-popularized quantitative method, the time-varying effect model (TVEM), in describing dynamic, momentary interpersonal processes implicated by Interpersonal Theory. We investigated moment-to-moment complementarity in affiliation and control behaviors (i.e., correspondence in affiliation and reciprocity in control between married dyad members) in a five-minute interaction (N=135), and how complementarity changed over time. Overall, results supported complementarity in affiliation and control. Moreover, effects were time-varying: Complementarity in affiliation increased over time and complementary in control changed over time in a cyclical manner. Dyadic adjustment moderated the strength in complementarity in control during specific timeframes. We discuss implications of these results and future directions. The findings support the utility of TVEM for studying dynamic and time-dependent interpersonal processes.

Natural language use and couples' adjustment to head and neck cancer

OBJECTIVE

This multimethod prospective study examined whether emotional disclosure and coping focus as conveyed through natural language use are associated with the psychological and marital adjustment of head and neck cancer patients and their spouses.

METHOD

One-hundred twenty-three patients (85% men; age X¯ = 56.8 years, SD = 10.4) and their spouses completed surveys prior to, following, and 4 months after engaging in a videotaped discussion about cancer in the laboratory. Linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) software assessed counts of positive/negative emotion words and first-person singular (I-talk), second person (you-talk), and first-person plural (we-talk) pronouns. Using a grounded theory approach, discussions were also analyzed to describe how emotion words and pronouns were used and what was being discussed.

RESULTS

Emotion words were most often used to disclose thoughts/feelings or uncertainty about the future, and to express gratitude or acknowledgment to one's partner. Although patients who disclosed more negative emotion during the discussion reported more positive mood following the discussion (p < .05), no significant associations between emotion word use and patient or spouse psychological and marital adjustment were found. Patients used significantly more I-talk than spouses and spouses used significantly more you-talk than patients (ps < .01). Patients and spouses reported more positive mood following the discussion when they used more we-talk. They also reported less distress at the 4-month follow-up when their partners used more we-talk during the discussion (p < .01).

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that emotional disclosure may be less important to one's cancer adjustment than having a partner who one sees as instrumental to the coping process. (PsycINFO Database Record

Relationship Quality and Alcohol-Related Social Reinforcement during Couples Interaction

Individuals who are unhappy in their intimate partnerships are at risk for developing alcohol problems. But little is known about the mechanisms underlying this link. One possibility is that couples with poor relationship quality gain more reinforcement from alcohol in certain contexts-a possibility that has never previously been empirically examined. In the current study, 304 individuals (152 couples) were assigned to receive alcohol (target BAC .08%) or a non-alcoholic beverage. They then engaged in a conflict-resolution interaction with their partners. Videotaped interactions were coded by trained observers. Results revealed a significant interaction between alcohol and relationship quality across multiple measures. Alcohol decreased negative behaviors, decreased negative reciprocity, and enhanced self-reported experience to a greater extent during interactions involving individuals reporting low relationship quality and had comparatively little effect among those reporting high relationship quality. Findings point to a potential mechanism underlying problem drinking among couples with poor relationship quality.

A Semantic Corpus Comparison Analysis of Couple-Focused Interventions for Problematic Alcohol Use

Incorporating spouses into interventions for problematic alcohol use is associated with increased efficacy; yet, little is known about the therapeutic processes that may explain these effects. In a study of partner language use during couple-focused alcohol interventions, we utilized a linguistic corpus comparison tool, Wmatrix, to identify semantic themes that differentiated couples with successful and unsuccessful treatment outcomes and may therefore also reflect potential change processes. Thirty-three couples participated in a randomized control trial of Family Systems Therapy (FST) or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Linguistic comparisons of partners' speech during the therapy sessions suggested that drinks and alcohol was a significant differentiating semantic theme. Specifically, patients and spouses in FST with successful outcomes used more language related to drinks and alcohol than patients and spouses in FST with unsuccessful outcomes. Post-hoc analyses of context suggested that, in FST, successful spouses spoke less about the patient's drinking and more about alcohol in general (without reference to an individual) than unsuccessful spouses. Conversely, spouses in CBT with successful outcomes used less language related to drinks and alcohol than spouses in CBT with unsuccessful outcomes. In CBT, successful spouses spoke more about the patient's and couple's drinking and less about the spouse's and other people's drinking than unsuccessful spouses. Results emphasize the role of spouse behaviour-in this case indexed via language use-in alcohol treatment outcomes. Findings also suggest potentially distinct therapeutic processes in FST and CBT and highlight the utility of linguistic corpus comparison methods in couple-focused intervention research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE

Incorporating spouses into interventions for problematic alcohol use is associated with increased efficacy; yet, little is known about the specific therapeutic processes that may explain these effects. Findings from this study suggest that semantic themes such as drinks and alcohol in partner speech during therapy sessions differentiate successful and unsuccessful treatment outcomes among couples participating in two couple-focused interventions for problematic alcohol use. In addition, the context in which partners used alcohol-related language differed by intervention type and treatment outcome, which suggests potential therapeutic processes that are unique to the two interventions (Family Systems versus Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).

Conflict resolution patterns and violence perpetration in adolescent couples: A gender-sensitive mixed-methods approach

This study used a sequential two-phase explanatory design. The first phase of this mixed-methods design aimed to explore conflict resolution strategies in adolescent dating couples, and the second phase to document, from both the perspective of the individual and of the couple, dyadic interaction patterns distinguishing youth inflicting dating violence from those who do not. A sample of 39 heterosexual couples (mean age 17.8 years) participated in semi-structured interviews and were observed during a 45 min dyadic interaction. At phase 1, qualitative analysis revealed three main types of conflict resolution strategies: 1) negotiating expectations and individual needs; 2) avoiding conflicts or their resolution; 3) imposing personal needs and rules through the use of violence. At phase 2, we focused on couples with conflictive patterns. Results indicate that couples who inflict violence differ from nonviolent couples by their tendency to experience conflicts when in disagreement and to resort to negative affects as a resolution strategy. In addition, while at an individual level, they show a tendency to withdraw from conflict and to use less positive affect, at a dyadic level they present less symmetry. Results offer important insights for prevention programs.

Psychometric properties of the system for coding couples' interactions in therapy--alcohol

Few systems are available for coding in-session behaviors for couples in therapy. Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy (ABCT) is an empirically supported treatment, but little is known about its mechanisms of behavior change. In the current study, an adapted version of the Motivational Interviewing for Significant Others coding system was developed into the System for Coding Couples' Interactions in Therapy-Alcohol (SCCIT-A), which was used to code couples' interactions and behaviors during ABCT. Results showed good interrater reliability of the SCCIT-A and provided evidence that the SCCIT-A may be a promising measure for understanding couples in therapy. A 3-factor model of the SCCIT-A (Positive, Negative, and Change Talk/Counter-Change Talk) was examined using a confirmatory factor analysis, but model fit was poor. Because model fit was poor, ratios were computed for Positive/Negative ratings and for Change Talk/Counter-Change Talk codes based on previous research in the couples and Motivational Interviewing literature. Post hoc analyses examined correlations between specific SCCIT-A codes and baseline characteristics, and indicated some concurrent validity. Correlations were run between ratios and baseline characteristics; ratios may be an alternative to using the factors from the SCCIT-A. Reliability and validity analyses suggest that the SCCIT-A has the potential to be a useful measure for coding in-session behaviors of both partners in couples therapy and could be used to identify mechanisms of behavior change for ABCT. Additional research is needed to improve the reliability of some codes and to further develop the SCCIT-A and other measures of couples' interactions in therapy.

Using Bayesian Nonparametric Hidden Semi-Markov Models to Disentangle Affect Processes during Marital Interaction

Sequential affect dynamics generated during the interaction of intimate dyads, such as married couples, are associated with a cascade of effects-some good and some bad-on each partner, close family members, and other social contacts. Although the effects are well documented, the probabilistic structures associated with micro-social processes connected to the varied outcomes remain enigmatic. Using extant data we developed a method of classifying and subsequently generating couple dynamics using a Hierarchical Dirichlet Process Hidden semi-Markov Model (HDP-HSMM). Our findings indicate that several key aspects of existing models of marital interaction are inadequate: affect state emissions and their durations, along with the expected variability differences between distressed and nondistressed couples are present but highly nuanced; and most surprisingly, heterogeneity among highly satisfied couples necessitate that they be divided into subgroups. We review how this unsupervised learning technique generates plausible dyadic sequences that are sensitive to relationship quality and provide a natural mechanism for computational models of behavioral and affective micro-social processes.

Momentary patterns of covariation between specific affects and interpersonal behavior: Linking relationship science and personality assessment

Relationships are among the most salient factors affecting happiness and wellbeing for individuals and families. Relationship science has identified the study of dyadic behavioral patterns between couple members during conflict as an important window in to relational functioning with both short-term and long-term consequences. Several methods have been developed for the momentary assessment of behavior during interpersonal transactions. Among these, the most popular is the Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF), which organizes social behavior into a set of discrete behavioral constructs. This study examines the interpersonal meaning of the SPAFF codes through the lens of interpersonal theory, which uses the fundamental dimensions of Dominance and Affiliation to organize interpersonal behavior. A sample of 67 couples completed a conflict task, which was video recorded and coded using SPAFF and a method for rating momentary interpersonal behavior, the Continuous Assessment of Interpersonal Dynamics (CAID). Actor partner interdependence models in a multilevel structural equation modeling framework were used to study the covariation of SPAFF codes and CAID ratings. Results showed that a number of SPAFF codes had clear interpersonal signatures, but many did not. Additionally, actor and partner effects for the same codes were strongly consistent with interpersonal theory's principle of complementarity. Thus, findings reveal points of convergence and divergence in the 2 systems and provide support for central tenets of interpersonal theory. Future directions based on these initial findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Changes in dyadic communication during and after integrative and traditional behavioral couple therapy

To examine changes in dyadic communication, as well as links between communication and long-term relationship outcomes, 134 distressed couples randomly assigned to either Traditional Behavioral Couple Therapy (TBCT; Jacobson & Margolin, 1979) or Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT; Jacobson & Christensen, 1998) were observed in video-recorded interactions. Observers rated discussions of relationship problems at 3 time points (pre-therapy, post-therapy, 2-year follow-up) and relationship outcomes (i.e., treatment response and relationship stability) were measured at a 5-year follow-up. Consistent with previous examinations of individual partner communication (K.J.W. Baucom et al., 2011; Sevier et al., 2008), TBCT produced greater improvements from pre-therapy to post-therapy (d = 0.27-0.43) and superior communication at post-therapy (d = 0.30-0.37). However, IBCT produced greater improvements from post-therapy to 2-year follow-up (d = 0.32-0.39). Both levels of, and changes in, dyadic communication were associated with relationship outcomes, even when controlling for individual communication. Our findings lend additional support for theoretical and practical differences between these two therapies and the utility of assessment at the level of the couple. Furthermore, they contribute to a broader pattern of findings in which relationship outcomes are more consistently linked with constructive communication than with destructive communication.

Do the naïve know best? The predictive power of naïve ratings of couple interactions

We examined the utility of naïve 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 2-year follow-up) during a randomized clinical trial of behavioral couple therapy. Teams of naïve raters observed a particular type of discussion from the 3 time points at a single sitting in a random order and rated dyadic interaction patterns (negative reciprocity, positive reciprocity, wife demand/husband withdraw, husband demand/wife withdraw, and mutual avoidance) and the overall relationship quality of couples. These naïve ratings were strongly and consistently associated with both levels of, and changes in, trained observational codes and self-reported relationship satisfaction. Naïve ratings of couples accounted for similar--and at times superior--amounts of variance in both concurrent relationship satisfaction and divorce at 5-year follow-up when compared with trained ratings. These findings offer compelling support for the use of naïve raters in research with couples and also suggest important future directions that are applicable to both research and practice with distressed couples.

Evaluation of the Controlling Alcohol and Relationship Enhancement (CARE) Program With Hazardous Drinkers

We assessed the effects of the Controlling Alcohol and Relationship Enhancement (CARE) program, an early intervention combining reduction of hazardous alcohol consumption and enhancement of couple relationships. Thirty-seven hazardous drinking couples were randomly allocated to either the CARE program or to a control condition. CARE couples improved their communication more than controls, but couples in both conditions reduced hazardous drinking to a similar extent. CARE is a potentially useful means of promoting positive relationship communication in hazardous drinking couples.

Observed communication in couples two years after integrative and traditional behavioral couple therapy: outcome and link with five-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE

To examine changes in observed communication after therapy termination in distressed couples from a randomized clinical trial.

METHOD

A total of 134 distressed couples were randomly assigned to either traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT; Jacobson & Margolin, 1979) or integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT; Jacobson & Christensen, 1998). Videotaped samples of each couple's interactions were coded from pre-therapy, post-therapy, and 2-year follow-up assessments. At these 3 time points, each partner chose 1 current relationship problem to discuss. Relationship satisfaction was assessed at 2-year follow-up, and clinically significant treatment response and marital status were assessed 5 years after treatment.

RESULTS

Observed negativity and withdrawal decreased from therapy termination through the 2-year follow-up as expected, but problem solving did not change, and observed positivity decreased. IBCT produced superior changes from post-therapy to the 2-year follow-up assessment compared with TBCT. Post-therapy levels and changes in communication over follow-up were associated with wife satisfaction at 2-year follow-up; only post-therapy to 2-year follow-up changes in communication were associated with husband satisfaction at 2-year follow-up. Post-therapy levels of problem solving and changes in wives' positivity from pre-therapy to post-therapy were associated with 5-year relationship outcomes. We found some counterintuitive results with positivity, but they were no longer significant after controlling for withdrawal.

CONCLUSIONS

We found support for improvements in observed communication following treatment termination, with IBCT demonstrating greater maintenance of communication improvement over follow-up. We found limited evidence of associations between communication and relationship outcomes at 5-year follow-up.

Incremental validity of spouse ratings versus self-reports of personality as predictors of marital quality and behavior during marital conflict

The personality traits of neuroticism and agreeableness are consistently related to marital quality, influencing the individual's own (i.e., actor effect) and the spouse's marital quality (i.e., partner effect). However, this research has almost exclusively relied on self-reports of personality, despite the fact that spouse ratings have been found to have incremental validity over self-reports for a variety of other important outcomes. In a study of 300 middle-aged and older married couples, we examined the incremental validity of spouse ratings of neuroticism and agreeableness in predicting concurrent levels of self-reported marital quality, observations of behavior during a marital disagreement task, and depressive symptoms. Neuroticism and agreeableness had expected actor and partner effects on each of these outcomes. Spouse ratings of these traits demonstrated incremental validity in estimates of actor and partner effects on marital quality, marital behavior, and depressive symptoms. Results suggest that spouse ratings of personality may be important additions to the typical reliance on self-reports for research and clinical assessment in marriage.

The dark side of forgiveness: the tendency to forgive predicts continued psychological and physical aggression in marriage

Despite a burgeoning literature that documents numerous positive implications of forgiveness, scholars know very little about the potential negative implications of forgiveness. In particular, the tendency to express forgiveness may lead offenders to feel free to offend again by removing unwanted consequences for their behavior (e.g., anger, criticism, rejection, loneliness) that would otherwise discourage reoffending. Consistent with this possibility, the current longitudinal study of newlywed couples revealed a positive association between spouses' reports of their tendencies to express forgiveness to their partners and those partners' reports of psychological and physical aggression. Specifically, although spouses who reported being relatively more forgiving experienced psychological and physical aggression that remained stable over the first 4 years of marriage, spouses who reported being relatively less forgiving experienced declines in both forms of aggression over time. These findings join just a few others in demonstrating that forgiveness is not a panacea.

Husbands' and wives' alcohol use disorders and marital interactions as longitudinal predictors of marital adjustment

In this longitudinal study, the relationships among wives' and husbands' lifetime alcoholism status, marital behaviors, and marital adjustment were tested. Participants were 105 couples from the Michigan Longitudinal Study (MLS), an ongoing multimethod investigation of substance use in a community-based sample of alcoholics, nonalcoholics, and their families. At baseline (T1), husbands and wives completed a series of diagnostic measures, and lifetime diagnosis of alcohol use disorder (AUD, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.), was assessed. Couples completed a problem-solving marital interaction task 3 years later at T2, which was coded for the ratio of positive to negative behaviors. Couples also completed a measure of marital adjustment at T4 (9 years after T1 and 6 years after T2). Results showed that husbands' lifetime AUD predicted lower levels of their wife's positive marital behaviors 3 years later but was not related to their own or their wife's marital adjustment 9 years from baseline. By contrast, wives' lifetime AUD had direct negative associations with their own and their husband's marital satisfaction 9 years later, and wives' marital behaviors during the problem-solving task predicted their own and their husband's marital satisfaction 6 years later. Findings indicate that marital adjustment in alcoholic couples may be driven more by the wives' than the husbands' AUD and marital behavior. Implications for intervention with alcoholic couples were discussed.

Husbands' and wives' alcohol use disorders and marital interactions as longitudinal predictors of marital adjustment

In this longitudinal study, the relationships among wives' and husbands' lifetime alcoholism status, marital behaviors, and marital adjustment were tested. Participants were 105 couples from the Michigan Longitudinal Study (MLS), an ongoing multimethod investigation of substance use in a community-based sample of alcoholics, nonalcoholics, and their families. At baseline (T1), husbands and wives completed a series of diagnostic measures, and lifetime diagnosis of alcohol use disorder (AUD, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.), was assessed. Couples completed a problem-solving marital interaction task 3 years later at T2, which was coded for the ratio of positive to negative behaviors. Couples also completed a measure of marital adjustment at T4 (9 years after T1 and 6 years after T2). Results showed that husbands' lifetime AUD predicted lower levels of their wife's positive marital behaviors 3 years later but was not related to their own or their wife's marital adjustment 9 years from baseline. By contrast, wives' lifetime AUD had direct negative associations with their own and their husband's marital satisfaction 9 years later, and wives' marital behaviors during the problem-solving task predicted their own and their husband's marital satisfaction 6 years later. Findings indicate that marital adjustment in alcoholic couples may be driven more by the wives' than the husbands' AUD and marital behavior. Implications for intervention with alcoholic couples were discussed.

When "negative" behaviors are positive: a contextual analysis of the long-term effects of problem-solving behaviors on changes in relationship satisfaction

How should partners discuss the problems that arise over the course of their intimate relationships? Prior studies have provided inconsistent answers to this question, with some suggesting that partners benefit by avoiding negative behaviors and others suggesting that partners benefit by engaging in negative behaviors. The 2 longitudinal studies of newlyweds described here reconcile these inconsistent findings by revealing that direct negative problem-solving behaviors interact with the severity of the problems couples face in their relationships to account for changes in relationship satisfaction. Whereas spouses' tendencies to blame, command, and reject their partners predicted steeper declines in their own marital satisfaction when exhibited in the context of relationships facing only minor problems, those same behaviors predicted more stable satisfaction in relationships facing more severe problems. Subsequent analyses revealed that changes in the severity of the problems themselves mediated these effects. By contrast, indirect negative communications were associated with stably lower levels of satisfaction regardless of problem severity. The current findings join others in highlighting the theoretical importance of accounting for the relational context when examining the implications of various interpersonal processes.

Feasibility of using interactive voice response to monitor daily drinking, moods, and relationship processes on a daily basis in alcoholic couples

BACKGROUND

Daily process research on alcohol involvement has used paper-and-pencil and electronic data collection methods, but no studies have yet tested the feasibility of using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology to monitor drinking, affective, and social interactional processes among alcoholic (ALC) couples. This study tested the feasibility of using IVR with n = 54 ALC couples.

METHODS

Participants were n = 54 couples (probands who met criteria for a past 1-year alcohol use disorder and their partners) recruited from a substance abuse treatment center and the local community. Probands and their partners reported on their daily drinking, marital interactions, and moods once a day for 14 consecutive days using an IVR system. Probands and partners were on average 43.4 and 43.0 years old, respectively.

RESULTS

Participants completed a total of 1,418 out of a possible 1,512 diary days for an overall compliance rate of 93.8%. ALC probands completed an average of 13.3 (1.0) diary reports, and partners completed an average of 13.2 (1.0) diary reports. On average, daily IVR calls lasted 7.8 (3.0) minutes for ALC probands and 7.6 (3.0) minutes for partners. Compliance was significantly lower on weekend days (Fridays and Saturdays) compared to other weekdays for probands and spouses. Although today's intoxication predicted tomorrow's noncompliance for probands but not spouses, the strongest predictor of proband's compliance was their spouse's compliance. Daily anxiety and marital conflict were associated with daily IVR nonresponse, which triggered automated reminder calls.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings supported that IVR is a useful method for collecting daily drinking, mood, and relationship process data from alcoholic couples. Probands' compliance is strongly associated with their partners' compliance, and automated IVR calls may facilitate compliance on high anxiety, high conflict days.

Directly observed interaction within adolescent romantic relationships: What have we learned?

Review and conceptual analysis of the papers in this special issue calls attention to several important methodological and conceptual issues surrounding the direct observation of adolescent romantic couples. It also provides an important new foundation of knowledge about the nature of adolescents' romantic relationships. Connections with previous family relationships, new understandings of the distinctive nature of adolescent romantic relationships, and gender issues are clarified by this body of papers. Together, these papers move the scholarly field forward and generate new lines of questions for future investigators.

Empathic accuracy and adolescent romantic relationships

Although theoretical insights suggest that empathic accuracy should emerge to play a role in adolescents' romantic relationships, the nature of any such role remains unknown. The current study examined whether empathic accuracy: (1) was developmentally based, (2) differed across gender, and (3) was associated with adolescents' satisfaction with their romantic relationships. Participants were 204 male-female couples who ranged between 14 and 21 years of age and had been dating between 4 weeks and 5 years. On average, both male and female adolescents showed high levels of empathic accuracy that were positively associated with their own and their partners' relationship satisfaction. However, the direction of the associations that emerged, and gender differences in them, depended in part on the type of information being perceived. For instance, while both males' and females' accuracy for discomfort and conflict were positively associated with partners' satisfaction, males'-but not females'-accuracy for connection was negatively associated with their satisfaction, and females'-but not males'-accuracy for persuasion was positively associated with partners' satisfaction. Empathic accuracy was not significantly associated with age or relationship length. Taken together, these results reveal that a complete picture of empathic accuracy requires research on perceptions of various types of information.

Marital interaction in alcoholic and nonalcoholic couples: alcoholic subtype variations and wives' alcoholism status

The authors examined problem-solving marital interactions of alcoholic and nonalcoholic couples (N = 132). Four alcoholic groups (husband alcoholic with antisocial personality disorder or not, paired with alcoholic or nonalcoholic wives) were compared with each other and with a both-spouses-nonalcoholic group. Consistent with the alcoholic subtypes hypothesis, couples with an antisocial alcoholic husband had higher levels of hostile behavior regardless of wives' alcoholism status. In contrast, rates of positive behaviors and the ratio of positive to negative behaviors were greatest among couples in which either both or neither of the spouses had alcoholic diagnoses and were lowest among alcoholic husbands with nonalcoholic wives. Discussion focuses on possible mechanisms linking antisocial alcoholism and discrepant alcoholic diagnoses to poorer marital outcomes.