Temporal dynamics of couples’ communication behaviors in conflict discussions: A longitudinal analysis

Leuchtmann, Lorena; Milek, Anne; Bernecker, Katharina; Nußbeck, Fridtjof W.; Backes, Sabine; Martin, Mike; Zemp, Martina; Brandstätter, Veronika; Bodenmann, Guy

doi:10.1177/0265407518806582

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(102 reference statements)

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“…As a result, we are left with decontextualized behaviors displayed by, and inadvertently attributed to, just one partner, thus grossly oversimplying the emergent and dyadic character of couple interaction (S. Duncan, Kanki, Mokros, & Fiske, ). Sequential analysis has proven to be difficult to implement—in part because repeated instances of behavioral sequences are necessary for reliable estimates of those sequences—but this problem can be overcome, for example, by collecting continuous ratings of behavior (e.g., Ross et al, ), by studying how behaviors unfold during the entire span of conversations (e.g., Kuster et al, ; Leuchtmann et al, ), and by undertaking intensive analysis of specific behavioral sequences hypothesized to be critical for problem‐solving or relationship maintenance. For example, in a methodologically elegant study, Bloch, Haase, and Levenson () focused intensely on how spouses mutually downregulate negative emotions and experiences during a problem‐solving conversation, with results suggesting that ineffective attempts to contain negative emotions, more so than the mere presence of negative affect, are most likely to compromise wives' relationship satisfaction.…”

Section: Marital Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Marital Satisfaction and Stability in the 2010s: Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Karney

Bradbury

2020

J of Marriage and Family

141

105

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Although getting married is no longer a requirement for social acceptance, most people do marry in their lifetimes, and couples across the socioeconomic spectrum wish their marriages to be satisfying and long lasting. This review evaluates the past decade of research on the determinants of satisfaction and stability in marriage, concluding that the scholarship of the past 10 years has undermined three assumptions that were formerly accepted as conventional wisdom. First, research exploiting methods such as latent class growth analyses reveal that, for most couples, marital satisfaction does not decline over time but in fact remains relatively stable for long periods. Second, contrary to predictions of behavioral models of marriage, negative communication between spouses can be difficult to change, does not necessarily lead to more satisfying relationships when it is changed, and does not always predict distress in the first place. Third, dyadic processes that are reliably adaptive for middle‐class and more affluent couples may operate differently in lower income couples, suggesting that influential models of marriage may not generalize to couples living in diverse environments. Thus, the accumulated research of the past 10 years indicates that the tasks of understanding and promoting marital satisfaction and stability are more complex than we appreciated at the start of the decade, raising important questions that beg to be answered in the years ahead.

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Section: Marital Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Marital Satisfaction and Stability in the 2010s: Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Karney

Bradbury

2020

J of Marriage and Family

141

105

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“…These steps were repeated for the coding of the second partner. This coding method demonstrated good validity in previous studies (Kuster et al, 2015;Zemp et al, 2016Zemp et al, , 2017, and rater teams achieved a high interrater reliability (i.e., Cohen's kappa ≥ 0.90) in previous research (Zemp et al, 2017;Leuchtmann et al, 2019). A master coder from the University of Zurich trained the first author.…”

Section: Affective Behaviormentioning

confidence: 83%

Affective Behavior in Parent Couples Undergoing Couple Therapy: Contrasting Case Studies

Liekmeier

Darwiche

Pinna³

et al. 2021

Front. Psychol.

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Being in a romantic relationship is characterized by a high degree of intimacy and affective involvement. Affective behavior indicates the emotional content in couple interactions and therefore promotes an understanding of the evolution of romantic relationships. When couples are also parents, their affective behavior reflects their romantic and coparental bonds. In this paper, we present an observation of parent couples’ affective behavior during a coparenting conflict discussion task to document whether and how much it improved during couple therapy. Two contrasting cases of affective behavior change are included. Observational coding of affective behavior within pre- and post-intervention coparenting conflict discussion tasks was carried out to compute means and CIs for each partner in both cases. In addition, the partners’ coparental and romantic satisfaction were evaluated through validated self-report questionnaires in pre- and post-intervention assessments; this helped document whether the partners’ coparental and romantic satisfaction were dissimilar between the two cases. Finally, a clinical analysis of both cases was realized with the contribution of the therapists to investigate possible differences within therapy sessions. Statistical analyses revealed negative means of affective behavior for couple A in the pre-intervention assessment and positive means in the post-intervention assessment. Partners from couple B had negative means of affective behavior in the pre- and post-intervention assessments. Results concerning coparental and romantic satisfaction differed: Couple A’s coparental satisfaction slightly increased and the romantic satisfaction somewhat decreased, whereas couple B’s coparental satisfaction remained stable and the romantic satisfaction slightly increased between the pre- and post-intervention assessments. The clinical analysis revealed that the interactional quality of couple A slightly improved within therapy sessions and that both partners succeeded in working together as coparents, notwithstanding their romantic distress. Couple B conveyed coparental distress and exhibited poor interactional quality throughout therapy sessions (e.g., repeated criticism and contempt). This study contributes to enriching the more traditional empirical research methods in the field of couple psychotherapy, as it takes into account microlevel affective changes within parent couples’ interactions in addition to self-reported data. Furthermore, the analysis of therapy sessions supports the importance of working with affective behavior in couple therapy.

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“…Some data of the larger research project has already been used in other publications (e.g., Kuster et al, 2015; Leuchtmann et al, 2019; Neysari et al, 2016). The present article is the first to investigate couples’ language use across interaction contexts, representing unique research questions, analytic strategies, and models.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the help of a list about common areas of disagreement (PAQ A; Heavey et al, 1995) and a trained research assistant, partners collaboratively identified a source of tension in their relationship they wanted to discuss. Among the most frequently discussed conflict topics were communication with the partner, annoying habits of the partner, and finances (Kuster et al, 2015; Leuchtmann et al, 2019). After deciding on the topic, participants were left alone in the room and videotaped while discussing the issue.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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I blame you, I hear you: Couples’ pronoun use in conflict and dyadic coping

Meier

Milek

Mehl

et al. 2021

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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In dyadic interaction, a verbal focus on one individual (“you-talk,” “I-talk”), rather than on the couple (“we-talk”) has predominantly been linked to dysfunctional relationship processes. However, context differences in these links have not yet been systematically examined. Is it functional to asymmetrically focus on one partner during support interactions but problematic during conflict? Does a high level of couple-focus represent a resource across contexts? In this preregistered study, we investigated dyad-level pronoun use (we-/I-/you-talk) and their link to situational relationship functioning (SRF) across three interaction tasks (one conflict, two dyadic coping tasks) within couples ( N = 365). More specifically, we examined associations of couple-means, i.e. pronoun use as a shared resource/vulnerability between partners, and couple-differences, i.e. functional/dysfunctional asymmetric pronoun use with observed interaction positivity and relationship climate. Results revealed both context differences and similarities. Asymmetric partner-focus (i.e. you-talk) was dysfunctional in conflict, whereas asymmetric partner- and self-focus (i.e., you-talk/I-talk; focus on the stressed partner) were functional in dyadic coping. Beyond asymmetry, you-talk (couple-mean) showed consistent negative associations with SRF in all tasks studied. We-talk (couple-mean) was positively linked to SRF, but only in conflict interactions. In conflict, couple-focus thus represented a shared resource that can buffer from dysfunctional conflict interaction characterized by partner-focus. In line with conceptual frameworks, the dyadic coping results emphasize the importance of focusing on the partner in need. The study corroborates the prospect of pronoun use as a context-specific indicator of relationship functioning. Gender differences, implications for future research and possible interventions are discussed.

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Temporal dynamics of couples’ communication behaviors in conflict discussions: A longitudinal analysis

Cited by 16 publications

References 37 publications

Research on Marital Satisfaction and Stability in the 2010s: Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Research on Marital Satisfaction and Stability in the 2010s: Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Affective Behavior in Parent Couples Undergoing Couple Therapy: Contrasting Case Studies

I blame you, I hear you: Couples’ pronoun use in conflict and dyadic coping

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