A recent body of results on marital communication and adjustment calls into question previous assumptions about dysfunctional communication for couples. Naturalistic studies using a lingitudinal design show that, for the most part, communication patterns crossectionally associated with marital adjustment do not predict changes in that criterion over time or, in a few cases, they do predict future adjustment but in the opposite direction. Likewise, new research on behavioral couple therapy suggests that the extent to which couples use communication behaviors traditionally considered to be adaptive bears little relationship to their response to treatment. Conceptual and methodological issues are discussed that might help interpret those data and improve the research in this field.
Wilson A., J. E. (1998). Surprise among marital researchers: finally, which communication patterns are dysfunctional?. Revista De Psicología, 7, Pág. 105–115. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-0581.1998.18762
Twitter