An analysis of clinical data from 17 middle-aged couples suggests that the Marital Communication Inventory, as a global measure, primarily assesses the perceived supportiveness of one's spouse. Previous reports of substantial correlations between self-report measures of marital adjustment and total scores on the inventory may be reinterpreted as artifacts of a general evaluative component common to the measures. Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between marital communication and marital adjustment.
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