Biomedical subjects

T N Bradbury

Publications and source records attributed to T N Bradbury.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Physical aggression and marital dysfunction: a longitudinal analysis.

Shortly after marriage, 56 couples provided data on physical aggression and other predictors of marital adjustment. At 6-month intervals over the next 4 years, spouses reported on their marital quality and stability. Results indicated that marital dysfunction was more common among aggressive than among nonaggressive couples (70% vs. 38%) and among severely aggressive than among moderately aggressive couples (93% vs. 46%). Aggression remained a reliable predictor of marital outcomes after the authors controlled for stressful events and negative communication. These findings help to refine developmental models of marital dysfunction, which often overlook the role of aggression, and can provide information for prevention programs for marital distress, which typically do not distinguish between aggressive and nonaggressive couples.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2001

Attachment insecurity and the distinction between unhappy spouses who do and do not divorce.

The hypothesis that attachment insecurity would be associated with remaining in an unhappy marriage was tested. One hundred seventy-two newly married couples participated in a 4-year longitudinal study with multiple assessment points. Hierarchical linear models revealed that compared with spouses in happy marriages and divorced spouses, spouses who were in stable but unhappy marriages showed the highest levels of insecurity initially and over time. Spouses in stable, unhappy marriages also had lower levels of marital satisfaction than divorced spouses and showed relatively high levels of depressive symptoms initially and over time. Results suggest that spouses at risk for stable, unhappy marriages can be identified early and may benefit from interventions that increase the security of spouses' attachment to each other.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Attributions in marriage: state or trait? A growth curve analysis.

Research on attributions in marriage rests on 2 assumptions. First, the attributions spouses make for their partners' behaviors have been treated as a style or a trait, reflecting enduring aspects of the perceiver. Second, attributions have been described as a causal factor in the development of the marriage over time. To evaluate the evidence for these assumptions, the authors analyzed 8 waves of longitudinal data from a sample of newlywed couples. Results offered no support for the idea of an enduring attributional style; attributions changed linearly, and changes in attributions were strongly associated with changes in marital satisfaction within each spouse. Nevertheless, controlling for these associations, initial levels of attributions predicted changes in marital satisfaction more than initial satisfaction predicted changes in attributions. Effects of neuroticism and effects on marital dissolution were also examined.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Till violence does us part: the differing roles of communication and aggression in predicting adverse marital outcomes.

Measures of communication and aggression, taken from 56 newlywed couples, were used to predict marital outcomes 4 years later. Aggression discriminated between separated or divorced couples and those who remained married. In contrast, communication discriminated between couples who were maritally satisfied after 4 years and those who were married but dissatisfied. Thus, over the 1st 4 years of marriage, marital satisfaction and dissolution appear to be predicted by separate factors. These results remained unchanged after controlling for initial marital satisfaction. Additional analyses showed that 68% of the marriages could be accurately classified into their outcome groups using communication and aggression variables. These results help to integrate prior marital research on communication and aggression, and they suggest that it may be necessary to focus on both factors in efforts to strengthen marriages and prevent divorce.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Attachment change processes in the early years of marriage.

The authors examined 4 models of attachment change: a contextual model, a social-cognitive model, an individual-difference model, and a diathesis-stress model. Models were examined in a sample of newlyweds over the first 2 years of marriage, using growth curve analyses. Reciprocal processes, whereby attachment representations and interpersonal life circumstances affect one another over time, also were studied. On average, newlyweds became more secure over time. However, there was significant within-subject variability on attachment change that was predicted by intra- and interpersonal factors. Attachment representations changed in response to contextual, social-cognitive, and individual-difference factors. Reciprocal processes between attachment representations and marital variables emerged, suggesting that these factors influence one another in an ongoing way.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1998

Social support, conflict, and the development of marital dysfunction.

How spouses help each other contend with personal difficulties is an unexplored but potentially important domain for understanding how marital distress develops. Newly married couples participated in 2 interaction tasks: a problem-solving task in which spouses discussed a marital conflict and a social support task in which spouses discussed personal, nonmarital difficulties. Observational coding of these interactions showed that wives' support solicitation and provision behaviors predicted marital outcomes 2 years later, independent of negative behaviors during marital problem-solving discussions. In addition, couples who exhibited relatively poor skills in both behavioral domains were at particular risk for later marital dysfunction. These results suggest that social support exchanges should be incorporated into social learning analyses of marriage and into programs designed to prevent marital distress.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Are premarital prevention programs reaching couples at risk for marital dysfunction?

In 2 studies, newlyweds reported whether they had participated in premarital counseling and provided data on known risk factors for marital dysfunction. Couples who participated in premarital programs were not at greater risk for marital difficulties, and in some cases participating husbands were at lower risk for marital difficulties compared with husbands who did not participate. Longitudinal data indicated that couples who participated in premarital programs did not have better marital outcomes than couples who did not participate. The present article also addresses the need to develop procedures that will increase at-risk couples' participation in premarital programs and to improve the effectiveness of these programs in community settings.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Neuroticism, marital interaction, and the trajectory of marital satisfaction.

Theories of how initially satisfied marriages deteriorate or remain stable over time have been limited by a failure to distinguish between key facets of change. The present study defines the trajectory of marital satisfaction in terms of 2 separate parameters--(a) the initial level of satisfaction and (b) the rate of change in satisfaction over time--and seeks to estimate unique effects on each of these parameters with variables derived from intrapersonal and interpersonal models of marriage. Sixty newlywed couples completed measures of neuroticism, were observed during a marital interaction and provided reports of marital satisfaction every 6 months for 4 years. Neuroticism was associated with initial levels of marital satisfaction but had no additional effects on rates of change. Behavior during marital interaction predicted rates of change in marital satisfaction but was not associated with initial levels.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Negative life events, marital interaction, and the longitudinal course of newlywed marriage.

Life events and problem-solving behavior were examined relative to longitudinal change in depressive symptoms and marital adjustment over 18 months in 60 newlywed couples. Spouses' problem-solving behavior moderated, but did not mediate, the relationship between life events and adjustment. Some behaviors contributed to spouses being more resilient to life events, and some behaviors made spouses more vulnerable. In particular, wives' anger facilitated their adjustment to major and interpersonal events such that their depressive symptoms declined and their marital satisfaction increased. Husbands' humor contributed to marital instability when spouses reported more major events. The results further specify the vulnerability-stress-adaptation model of marriage and expand on the role of behavior in marriage.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Marital functioning and depressive symptoms: evidence for a stress generation model.

The present study applied C.L. Hammen's (1991) stress generation model to depressive symptoms in the context of marriage. The authors predicted that depressive symptoms would lead to increased marital stress, which would in turn lead to increased depressive symptoms. Social support processes were hypothesized to function as a mechanism by which dysphoric spouses generate stress. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 154 newlywed couples. Depressive symptoms, marital stress, support perceptions, and support behavior (assessed using observational procedures) were assessed initially and 1 year later. Results provided evidence of marital stress generation among wives, and social support processes functioned as a mechanism of stress generation for wives. Results highlight the cyclical course of dysphoria and stress among wives.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Attributions and behavior in functional and dysfunctional marriages.

The study examined whether spouses' attributions for partner behavior are related to their own behavior by assessing their attributions and observing the problem-solving discussions of couples in which (a) neither spouse was depressed or maritally distressed, (b) the wife was depressed and both spouses were maritally distressed, and (c) the wife was not depressed and both spouses were maritally distressed. To the extent they made maladaptive attributions, wives displayed less positive behavior and more negative behavior. Husbands' attributions and behavior were unrelated, and associations between attributions and behavior were not moderated by marital distress and depression. These results highlight the need to clarify how partner behavior contributes to the attributions spouses make and to reexamine interventions designed to modify attributions in marital therapy.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Longitudinal and behavioral analysis of masculinity and femininity in marriage.

Spouses' masculinity and femininity were examined in relation to longitudinal change in marital satisfaction and behavior displayed in a problem-solving discussion. Results indicated, first, that wives' satisfaction declined to the extent that their husband endorsed fewer desirable masculine traits (Study 1) and more undesirable masculine traits (Study 2). Second, masculinity and femininity covaried with problem-solving behavior, particularly for behavioral sequences involving husbands' responses to wives' negative behavior. Finally, the relation between husbands' masculinity and change in wives' satisfaction was not mediated by husbands' behavior; instead, sex role and behavioral variables made independent contributions to change in wives' satisfaction. These results are important because they highlight the value of examining intraindividual and interpersonal variables when determining how marriages improve and deteriorate.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

The longitudinal course of marital quality and stability: a review of theory, method, and research.

Although much has been learned from cross-sectional research on marriage, an understanding of how marriages develop, succeed, and fail is best achieved with longitudinal data. In view of growing interest in longitudinal research on marriage, the authors reviewed and evaluated the literature on how the quality and stability of marriages change over time. First, prevailing theoretical perspectives are examined for their ability to explain change in marital quality and stability. Second, the methods and findings of 115 longitudinal studies--representing over 45,000 marriages--are summarized and evaluated, yielding specific suggestions for improving this research, Finally, a model is outlined that integrates the strengths of previous theories of marriage, accounts for established findings, and indicates new directions for research on how marriages change.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

The role of negative affectivity in the association between attributions and marital satisfaction.

Structural equation modeling with latent variables was used to test whether negative affectivity, or the cross-situational tendency to experience and express negative thoughts and feelings, correlates with spouses' attributions for relationship events and accounts for the association between attributions and satisfaction. Eighty married couples completed measures of marital satisfaction, attributions, and negative affectivity. Spouses high in negative affectivity tended to make maladaptive attributions, but spouses' attributions were unrelated to the level of negative affectivity reported by the partner. Attributions and marital satisfaction remained associated among husbands and wives after controlling for negative affectivity. These findings clarify the link between attributions and marital satisfaction and raise the possibility that negative affectivity contributes to the attributions that spouses make for negative events in marriage.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993

Marital satisfaction, depression, and attributions: a longitudinal analysis.

This study examined the longitudinal relation between causal attributions and marital satisfaction and tested rival hypotheses that might account for any longitudinal association found between these variables. Data on attributions for negative partner behaviors, marital satisfaction, depression, and self-esteem were provided by 130 couples at 2 points separated by 12 months. To the extent that spouses made nonbenign attributions for negative partner behavior, their marital satisfaction was lower a year later. This finding was not due to depression, self-esteem, or initial level of marital satisfaction, and also emerged when persons reporting chronic individual or marital disorder were removed. Results support a possible causal relation between attributions and marital satisfaction.

Depression↗

PubMed1992

Assessing attributions in marriage: the relationship attribution measure.

A brief, simple measure of different types of attributions for partner behavior was examined in 3 studies of married couples. Reliability was established by high internal consistency and test-retest correlations. Causal and responsibility attribution scores correlated with marital satisfaction, attributions for marital difficulties, and attributions for actual partner behaviors generated by spouses. Responsibility attributions were related to (a) reported anger in response to stimulus behaviors used in the measure and (b) the amount of anger displayed by wives during a problem-solving interaction with their partner. The extent to which husbands and wives whined during their discussion also correlated with their responsibility attributions. The results address several problems with existing assessments, and their implications for the measurement of attributions in marriage are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1992

Attributions and behavior in marital interaction.

To examine whether spouses' attributions for events in their marriage are related to their behavior in interaction, spouses were asked to report their marital quality, to make attributions for marital difficulties, and to engage in problem-solving discussions. Study 1 demonstrated that spouses' maladaptive attributions were related to less effective problem-solving behaviors, particularly among wives. Study 2 showed that spouses' maladaptive attributions were related to higher rates of negative behavior and, for wives, to increased tendencies to reciprocate negative partner behavior. In both studies attributions and behavior tended to be more strongly related for distressed than nondistressed wives. These results support social-psychological models that posit that attributions are related to behavior and models of marriage and close relationships that assume that maladaptive attributions contribute to conflict behavior and relationship dysfunction.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1990

Attributions in marriage: review and critique.

The prevailing behavioral account of marriage must be expanded to include covert processes. This article therefore examines the attributions or explanations that spouses make for marital events. A review indicates that dissatisfied spouses, compared with satisfied spouses, make attributions for the partner's behavior that cast it in a negative light. Experimental, clinical outcome, and longitudinal data suggest further that attributions may influence marital satisfaction. Rival hypotheses for these findings are examined. Because continued empirical development in this domain depends on conceptual progress, a framework is presented that integrates attributions, behavior, and marital satisfaction. This framework points to several topics that require systematic study, and specific hypotheses are offered for research on these topics. It is concluded that the promising start made toward understanding marital attributions holds considerable potential for enriching behavioral conceptions of marriage.

Cognition↗