A daily diary analysis of the associations among stress, closeness, and relationship and sexual satisfaction was conducted with a sample of 40 gay male and 55 lesbian couples. Using interdependence theory as a guide, both actor and partner effects of stress, closeness, and their interaction were investigated. As predicted, it was found that participants' own feelings of closeness toward their partners buffered the negative association between stress and satisfaction but that when participants' partners felt particularly close on a stressful day their closeness exacerbated associations between stress and reduced satisfaction. These contrasting effects of closeness underscore the importance of considering the daily processes of both partners contributing to relationship quality. affects their relationships as well. Interdependence theorists would suggest that because of the interpersonal nature of close relationships, the attitudes and behaviors of one individual will affect the other individual in the relationship and the quality of the relationship as a whole (Kelley et al., 1983). In addition to examining how stress impacts the health of individuals, researchers also need to examine how stress impacts relationships. Although there is literature to suggest that major stressful life events such as

The field of family violence, although rapidly expanding, remains characterized by large gaps in knowledge regarding both etiology and effective tmatment strategies. The purpose of this article Is to integrate diverse msearch efforts In order t o better understand the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of interpartner violence. Identilied limitations include problems with detinition, and the lack of integrated, multidimensional axplanatory theories, well-controlled treatment outcome studies, and relational-level an-. Identified strengths include the development of typologies and advances in measurement of I n t e~r r o n d violence. The underlying thema of this article is that an integrated effort, incorporating basic research and clinical innovation, Individual and Interactional perspectives, and differing theomtical orientations and advocacy positions, holds the greatest promise for effectively Impacting this problem. domastic violenca, family violence, spouse abuse, Interpersonal violence, batterer. [ C / h Key wods: m c h d S C~ P~c 2:377-348, 79951In the past decade we have witnessed a heightened public awareness of the frequency of domestic violence and its deleterious effects on individual and family well-being.

The general purpose of this study was to investigate domestic violence within a conflict framework. Specifically, the associations between conflict-based, communication responses and outcome behaviors and the frequency and severity of male domestic violence towards female partners were examined. Participants were 251 male volunteers who reported on a range of communication responses and outcomes for both self and partner. The contribution of relationship distress was controlled for and also examined as a moderator. Relationship distress was not found to be a significant moderator. Results showed that 8 communication response variables and 4 outcome variables were significantly associated with the frequency and/or severity of male domestic violence. Relative to non-violent relationships, relationships with male violence had more male and female unilateral verbal aggression, more mutual verbal aggression, more male demand/partner withdraw, less constructive relative to destructive communication, and less mutual problem-solving. Relationships with male violence also had poorer resolution of problems and more emotional distance after problem arguments and discussions than their non-violent counterparts.

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In order to further our understanding of conflict within a marital relationship, this study had two purposes: (i) to identify married couples' conflict response profiles, and (ii) to relate these conflict profiles to appraisals of marital quality. Spouses in 173 intact married couples completed a questionnaire that included measures of a sample of aggressive, withdrawing, and problem-solving responses occurring during conflict episodes, and indices of marital quality. Cluster analyses of married dyads' conflict responses generated four conceptually interesting profiles - two symmetrical ('distancing couples' and `engaging couples') and two asymmetrical ('distancing husbands' and `distancing wives'). Results indicated that couples who endorse different conflict profiles could be distinguished according to their level of marital adjustment. The advantages to understanding conflict responses within a marriage by studying the couple as the unit of analysis were highlighted.