The prediction and prevention of marital distress: an international perspective

Markman, Howard J.; Hahlweg, Kurt

doi:10.1016/0272-7358(93)90006-8

Cited by 110 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Almost all couples entering committed relationships report high initial relationship satisfaction (Markman & Hahlweg, 1993), and deficits in communication predict deterioration of that satisfaction (Kearney & Bradbury, 1995). We deliberately selected couples who were high on relationship satisfaction and established that the woman's parental divorce covaried with deficits in communication early in the relationship before any major relationship dissatisfaction had developed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental divorce and premarital couple communication.

Sanders¹,

Halford²,

Behrens³

1999

Journal of Family Psychology

100

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On the basis of a social learning analysis, it was hypothesized that a history of parental divorce would predispose partners to difficulties in managing conflict. Ninetythree engaged couples were videotaped while they discussed two areas of conflict. Each partner then completed a video-mediated recall procedure, an assessment of cognition during the interactions, which was then coded and analyzed. As predicted, couples in which the woman's parents had divorced showed more negative communication and cognitions during conflict discussions than did couples in which neither partner's parents had divorced. Contrary to predictions, couples in which the man's parents had divorced did not differ from couples in which neither partner's parents had divorced. The current research shows that, at least for women, a history of parental divorce is associated with more negative couple communication before marriage.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adaptive communication behaviors can be learned (Halford & Behrens, 1996;Markman & Hahlweg, 1993). If communication deficits are evident in those exposed to parental divorce, then relationship preparation programs might help to overcome these deficits.…”

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confidence: 99%

Parental divorce and premarital couple communication.

Sanders¹,

Halford²,

Behrens³

1999

Journal of Family Psychology

100

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“…For example, the Minnesota Couples Communication Project (Miller, Nunnally & Wackman, 1975;Wampler & Sprenkle, 1980) Leslie, & Milholland, 1980;Ridley, Jorgensen, Morgan, & Avery, 1982), and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP;Markman, Stanley, & Blumberg, 1994) all emphasize training couples in communication skills. This focus seems appropriate given that deficits in communication and conflict management prospectively predict relationship distress in newly married couples (Noller & Feeney, 1994;Karney & Bradbury, 1995;Markman, 1981;Markman & Hahlweg, 1993;Pasch & Bradbury, 1998).It has been shown that five to six sessions of relationship education with a skills-training focus reliably improve couple communication (Avery et al, 1980;Hahlweg, Markman, Thurmair, Engel, & Eckert, 1998;Markman, Floyd, Stanley, & Storaasli, 1988;Markman & Hahlweg, 1993;Miller et al, 1975;Renick, Blumberg, & Markman, 1992). These changes in communication are maintained for months or even years after completion of the education program (Hahlweg et al, 1998;Ridley et al, 1982;Stanley, Markman, St. Peters, & Leber, 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

Can skills training prevent relationship problems in at-risk couples? Four-year effects of a behavioral relationship education program.

Halford¹,

Sanders²,

Behrens³

2001

Journal of Family Psychology

195

219

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Eighty-three couples were stratified into groups at high and low risk for relationship distress and randomized to either the Self-Regulatory Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (Self-PREP) or a control condition. As predicted, there were differential effects of Self-PREP on high-risk and low-risk couples. Because of low statistical power, results must be interpreted cautiously, but at 1-year follow-up high-risk couples in Self-PREP showed trends toward better communication than control couples. However, there was no difference in the communication of Self-PREP and control low-risk couples. High-risk couples receiving Self-PREP exhibited higher relationship satisfaction at 4 years than control couples, but in low-risk couples relationship satisfaction was higher in the control condition. High-risk couples seemed to benefit from skills-based relationship education, but low-risk couples did not.Couples who sustain mutually satisfying relationships experience many benefits. Relative to other people, those in satisfying marriages have lower rates of psychological distress, higher rated life happiness, and greater resistance to the detrimental effects of negative life events (Bradbury, 1998;Gore, 1978;Gove, Hughes, & Style, 1983;Halford, 2001;Halford, Kelly, & Markman, 1997). In contrast, being in a distressed marriage is a generic risk factor for poorer mental and physical health for the couple and their offspring (Coie et al., 1993;Halford, 1999) and is strongly associated with risk for relationship aggression (Arias, Samios, & O'Leary, 1987;O'Leary et al., 1989).Almost all couples report high relationship satisfaction at the time of marriage, but for many couples satisfaction erodes in the first few years of marriage (Hill & Peplau, 1998;Huston & Vangelisti, 1991;Kurdeck, 1998;Markman, 1981;Noller & Feeney, 1994;Veroff, Douvan, Orbuch, & Acitelli, 1998). Decreased satisfaction is associated with a high risk of separation (Gottman, 1993), particularly if there is physical aggression between the partners (Rogge & Bradbury, 1999). About 42% of Australian marriages end in divorce (McDonald, 1995), and about half of these divorces occur in the first 7 years of marriage (McDonald, 1995).Across the United States, Western Europe, and Australia, relationship education programs are widely available to marrying couples (Halford, 1999;Simons, Harris, & Willis, 1994;van Widenfelt, Markman, Guerney, Behrens, & Hosman, 1997). These programs are intended to assist couples in sustaining satisfying marriages and to reduce divorce rates (van Widenfelt et al., 1997). Most relationship education programs are offered by religious and community groups, the content of these programs is often not documented, and the effects of most of the programs have not been evaluated (Halford, 1999;van Widenfelt et al., 1997). Relationship education programs that have been evaluated empirically involve a substantial focus on training couple communication skills (Halford, 1999). For example, the Minnesota Couples Communication Projec...

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“…Research [28] suggests the possibilities for preventing marital distress through teaching couples to improve communication and to handle conflict before problems develop. The motivational health checkup model appeared to encourage a broad range of couples who might not have otherwise sought relationship services to deliberately take care of their marital health [29].…”

Section: Dsm-iv Psychiatric Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marital distress and disease progression: A systematic review

Guan

Han²

2013

Health

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Objective: To review the state of research on the association between marital distress and disease progression. Methods: The PubMed Central, Wiley Interscience, Sciencedirect, Biomed central and Springer-link were searched to identify studies published between January 1984 and October 2012 on disease progression. Articles meeting the following criteria were selected for review: 1) study subjects were spouses, 2) the article was published within the past 28 years in a peer-reviewed journal, and 3) the research included at least one of the following outcomes-marital distress or disease progression. Articles were different on time span, the number of surveys, and the definition of disease. Results: Out of 72 screened articles, 18 met our criteria. Research demonstrates that marital distress and disease progression appear to have bidirectional influence on each other. Conclusion: Marital distress has a significant effect on disease progression. This article summarizes what is known about the association of marital distress on disease progression among spouses with disease. The authors speculate that associations between marital distress and disease progression will motivate policy makers in developing countries to allocate more resources towards spousal service.

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The prediction and prevention of marital distress: an international perspective

Cited by 110 publications

References 13 publications

Parental divorce and premarital couple communication.

Parental divorce and premarital couple communication.

Can skills training prevent relationship problems in at-risk couples? Four-year effects of a behavioral relationship education program.

Marital distress and disease progression: A systematic review

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