Howard J. Markman

Assessing Commitment in Personal Relationships.

A modelfor conceptualizing relationship commitment is presented and the development of a measure corresponding to this model described. Commitment is considered as two constructs: personal dedication and constraint commitment. In study one, items developed for the Commitment Inventory (CI) were given to a sample of 141 subjects. Item analyses resulted in selection of the items for the inventory. In study two, 279 subjects yielded data used in further testing of the CI. Tests were conducted on the reliability of the subscales, the factor structure of the CI, and the associations between the CI and various other measures of commitment. Further, the CI was examined in relation to various demographic variables and various measures of other relationship constructs. Overall, the research demonstrated that the CI shows promise as a reliable and valid instrument for measuring commitment. Implications are discussed for both the CI and the concept of commitment.

The topography of marital conflict: A sequential analysis of verbal and nonverbal behavior.

from a study of content, affect, and context differences as well as from sequential analyses of the data. Findings show that this coding system made it possible to account for most of the variance in the classification of couples as distressed or nondistressed. Specific findings provided tests of many currently untested hypotheses about good communication in marriages that have been the basis of clinical interventions. The hypotheses which were studied in the present investigation involve the function of metacommunication, the expression of feelings, summarizing self versus other, feeling probes, nonverbal behavior during message delivery, context differences, and positive and negative reciprocity. Functions of messages were assessed by sequential analysis procedures.

Preventing marital distress through communication and conflict management training: a 4- and 5-year follow-up

This article reports the 4- and 5-year follow-up results of evaluating the effects of a marital distress prevention program. The program, Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), is a 5-session program designed to teach couples effective communication and conflict management skills. At the 5-year follow-up, intervention, as compared with control, couples had higher levels of positive and lower levels of negative communication skills and lower levels of marital violence. Data are also presented on couples who declined the program. Issues are discussed concerning selection effects, change mechanisms, and future directions for prevention research.

The Effect of the Transition to Parenthood on Relationship Quality: An 8-Year Prospective Study

This longitudinal study examined the effect of the birth of the 1st child on relationship functioning using data from 218 couples (436 individuals) over the course of the first 8 years of marriage. Compared with prebirth levels and trajectories, parents showed sudden deterioration following birth on observed and self-reported measures of positive and negative aspects of relationship functioning. The deterioration in these variables was small to medium in size and tended to persist throughout the remaining years of the study. Mothers and fathers showed similar amounts of change after birth. The amount of postbirth deterioration in relationship functioning varied systematically by several characteristics of the individual, the marriage, and the pregnancy itself. In a group of couples who did not have children, results indicated more gradual deterioration in relationship functioning during the first 8 years of marriage without the sudden changes seen in parents, suggesting that the results seen in the parent sample may be due to birth.

Premarital education, marital quality, and marital stability: findings from a large, random household survey.

One of the limitations of experimental studies on the effectiveness of premarital education is the reliance on samples of mostly White, middle-class couples. In contrast, although survey methods allow only weak inferences about causal relations, representative surveys can yield important information about use and estimated effects across a diverse population. Using a large random survey of 4 middle American states, the authors found that participation in premarital education was associated with higher levels of satisfaction and commitment in marriage and lower levels of conflict-and also reduced odds of divorce. These estimated effects were robust across race, income (including among the poor), and education levels, which suggests that participation in premarital education is generally beneficial for a wide range of couples.

Maybe I Do Interpersonal Commitment and Premarital or Nonmarital Cohabitation

Explanations for the risks associated with premarital and nonmarital cohabitation (e.g., higher rates of breakup and divorce, lower relationship satisfaction, and greater risk for violent interaction) have focused on levels of conventionality, including attitudes about commitment to the institution of marriage. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of interpersonal, not institutional, commitment. In a national random sample (United States), premarital and nonmarital cohabitation were associated with lower levels of interpersonal commitment to partners, suggesting links to further understanding of risk in these relationships. Premarital cohabitation was particularly associated with less committed and less religious males. Prior findings associating cohabitation with lower levels of happiness and religiosity, and higher levels of negative interaction (for men) were replicated.

Timing is everything: Pre-engagement cohabitation and increased risk for poor marital outcomes.

Data from a longitudinal study were used to examine differences among couples that cohabited before engagement, after engagement, or not until marriage. Survey data and objectively coded couple interaction data were collected for 136 couples (272 individuals) after engagement (but before marriage) and 10 months into marriage. At both time points, the before-engagement cohabiters (59 couples) had more negative interactions, lower interpersonal commitment, lower relationship quality, and lower relationship confidence than those who did not cohabit until after engagement (28 couples) or marriage (49 couples), even after controlling for selection factors and duration of cohabitation. Our findings suggest that those who cohabit before engagement are at greater risk for poor marital outcomes than those who cohabit only after engagement or at marriage, which may have important implications for future research on cohabitation, clinical work, and social policy decisions.

The prediction and prevention of marital distress: an international perspective

Abstract This article presents the conceptual and empirical rationale for attention to the prevention of marital distress. The line of research for the United States, its history, and then the results of a German replication and extension study are presented. The results suggest the possibilities for preventing marital distress through teaching couples to improve communication and to handle conflict before problems develop. Implications for future research are discussed.

Relationship Education Research: Current Status and Future Directions

The overarching aim of this article is to review the research on relationship education programs and approaches that has been published or accepted for publication since the last review article in 2003. This article provides a critical overview of the relationship education field and sets an agenda for research and practice for the next decade. A theme weaved throughout the article is the ways in which relationship education is similar and different from couples therapy, and we conclude that there can be a synergistic, healthy marriage between the two. We then provide recommendations for future directions for research in the relationship education field. Finally, the coauthors comment on our experiences in both the relationship education field and the couples therapy field as both researchers and interventionists.

Strengthening Marriages and Preventing Divorce: New Directions in Prevention Research

Despite the fact that marital divorce rates have decreased throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, couples marrying for the first time continue to face a 50% chance of divorce during their lifetime (National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS], in press). Many other couples never divorce but remain in distressed and/or abusive relationships (Notarius & Markman, 1993). The good news is that there is more information available now than ever before to help couples take meaningful steps to prevent divorce and preserve meaningful relationships. The aims of this article are to provide an outline of our approach to preventing marital distress and divorce, to summarize the results from our longitudinal research on prevention, and to describe some of our ongoing efforts to test and disseminate our prevention approach with new populations of couples (i.e., couples in the transition to marriage and transition to parenthood stages). Along the way, we will also highlight key dilemmas we and others face in the dissemination of empirically tested interventions beyond the walls of university research settings. OVERVIEW OF PREVENTION MODEL AND RESEARCH Destructive Relationship Conflict: A Generic Risk Factor A recent National Institute of Mental Health report on prevention argues that marital distress and, in particular, destructive marital conflict are major generic risk factors for many forms of dysfunction and psychopathology (Coie et al., 1993). For example, marital and/or family discord has been linked to higher rates of depression in adults (especially women; Coyne, Kahn, & Gotlib, 1987) and a variety of negative outcomes for children, including conduct disorders (Fincham, Grych, & Osborne, 1993), internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, depression), and juvenile delinquency (Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992). Furthermore, the destructive effects of marital distress on physical health (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1993) and worker productivity (e.g., Markman, Forthofer, Cox, Stanley, & Kessler, 1994) are now being documented. Evidence from several longitudinal studies of couples suggests that communication problems and destructive marital conflict are among leading risk factors for future divorce and marital distress (e.g., Gottman, 1994; Markman & Hahlweg, 1993). Furthermore, destructive conflict appears to be the most potent mechanism through which the effects of divorce and marital distress are transmitted to spouses and children (Cowan & Cowan, 1992, 1995; Fisher & Fagot, 1993; Grych & Fincham, 1990; Howes & Markman, 1389; Volling & Belsky, 1992). Based on many studies in the field, we have identified patterns of destructive arguing (e.g., escalation, invalidation, withdrawal, pursuit-withdrawal, and negative interpretations) that place couples--and, therefore, families--at risk for a host of problems in the future (Markman, Stanley, & Blumberg, 1994). Longitudinal studies have found that, over time, these destructive patterns (and those similar to them) undermine marital happiness through the active erosion of love, sexual attraction, friendship, trust, and commitment (Gottman, 1993; Markman & Hahlweg, 1993). These positive elements of relationships--the reasons people want to be together--do not naturally diminish over time, but are actively eroded by destructive conflict patterns (Notarius & Markman, 1993). Although dysfunctional communication and conflict patterns are recognizable in premarital interaction (Markman, 1981), they become more difficult to modify once they become established in the interactional styles of couples (Raush, Barry, Hertel, & Swain, 1974). Despite the difficulties inherent in trying to change set patterns, the primary method of helping couples is to treat relationship problems after they have become severe enough for the couple to seek therapy, usually after there have been negative effects on spouses and children (Hahlweg & Markman, 1988). …