Why is it that, when interacting about a marital problem, wives are more likely to make demands, whereas husbands are more likely to withdraw? The social structure hypothesis suggests that wives are more likely to demand because marital relationships tend to favor husbands, who are accordingly more committed to maintaining the status quo. To elaborate on this explanation, the current study used observational data to examine correlates of demand and withdraw behaviors in 82 newlywed couples. Analyses revealed that: (a) sex differences in demand/withdraw emerged only during discussions of problems selected by wives, (b) these differences were driven by differences in rates of demanding, not withdrawal, (c) demand and withdraw behaviors were not significantly associated in newlyweds, and (d) both behaviors were associated in predicted ways with how important the topic was to each spouse.
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