Coexisting difficulties and couple therapy outcomes: psychopathology and intimate partner violence.

Couples presenting for treatment of relationship distress often experience additional problems, including individual psychopathology and intimate partner violence (IPV). Both issues are associated with current and future poor relationship functioning in nontreatment samples, but relatively little is understood about their association with initial presentation and outcomes in couple therapy. The current study examined these associations in a sample of 177 heterosexual couples who received therapy at two Veteran's Affairs clinics. Unlike most studies of couple therapy outcomes, couples were not excluded from treatment specifically because of high levels of psychopathology or IPV. Results of Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) analyses revealed actor and partner effects of depression, actor effects of anxiety, and partner effects of IPV on initial relationship satisfaction, such that greater coexisting difficulties were associated with poorer initial satisfaction. However, improvement in relationship satisfaction over the course of therapy was not associated with psychopathology, and, contrary to hypothesis, was positively associated with men's IPV prior to treatment, even when initial level of satisfaction was controlled. The results suggest that coexisting symptoms of psychopathology or IPV may not necessarily interfere with therapy outcomes and, indeed, therapy may have positive effects for couples with these problems.

Assessing disharmony and disaffection in intimate relationships: Revision of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory factor scales.

Previous research has identified 2 broad components of distress in intimate relationships: overt conflict, or disharmony, and emotional distance, or disaffection. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors derived 2 broadband scales of disharmony and disaffection from the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (D. K. Snyder, 1997), building upon previous measures of these constructs (D. K. Snyder & Regts, 1982) derived from the original instrument. The new scales demonstrated high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as discriminative validity and convergent validity with independent criteria of relationship functioning. Distinct distributions of these scales in community and clinical samples suggested their complementary role in research on intimate relationships and assessment of couples in treatment.

Predictors of intimacy in couples' discussions of relationship injuries: an observational study.

The interpersonal process model of intimacy (H. T. Reis & P. Shaver, 1988) proposes that self-disclosure and empathic responding form the basis of intimate interactions. This study examined this model in 102 community couples who completed intimacy measures following videotaped discussions about relationship injuries occurring both within and outside the relationship. Observational assessments of self-disclosure and empathic responding, as well as their respective components, were related to self-reported ratings of post-interaction intimacy. Men's own disclosure and empathic responding predicted their feelings of intimacy, whereas women's intimacy was predicted by their partner's disclosure and empathic responding. Self-disclosure and empathic responding appear to be important behavioral determinants of intimate feelings, but the manner in which they influence intimacy differs according to gender.