title: Problem-solving skills and affective expressions as predictors of change in marital satisfaction.
abstract: Specific skills and affective expressions coded from the problem-solving interactions of 172 newlywed couples were examined in relation to 8-wave, 4-year trajectories of marital satisfaction. Effects varied as a function of whether husbands' versus wives' topics were under discussion and whether husbands' versus wives' satisfaction was predicted, but results indicate that skills, affect, and their statistical interaction account for unique variance in rates of change in marital satisfaction. The interaction between positive affect and negative skills was particularly robust, indicating that (a) low levels of positive affect and high levels of negative skills foreshadowed particularly rapid rates of deterioration and that (b) high levels of positive affect buffered the effects of high levels of negative skills. Findings suggest specific targets for intervention in programs for developing marriages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA. mjohnson@binghamton.edu
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cohan
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davila
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Ronald D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Rogge
authors.forename: Benjamin R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Karney
authors.forename: Kieran T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Thomas N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Bradbury
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008388:Marital Therapy; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011340:Problem Solving; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome