Gottman (1982) has developed a model of marital interaction and conflict that involves distinct ways in which distressed and nondistressed couples attempt to resolve disagreements over three sequential stages, a pattern Gottman identifies as temporal form. To determine whether married couples might recognize the elements of each stage in their own relationship, scales for assessing each stage of conflict were developed. The scales appear to have excellent internal consistency reliability and to differentiate distressed and nondistressed couples as expected from Gottman's proposals. Further research on the validity of the scales, using larger samples and behavioral observations is recommended.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonS. A.RussellC. S.SchummW. R.Perceived marital quality and family life-cycle categories: A further analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1983, 45, 127–139.
2.
Barrett-LeonardG. T.Dimensions of therapist response as causal factors in therapeutic change. Psychological Monographs, 1962, 76, No. 43 (Whole No. 562).
3.
CampbellA.ConverseP. E.RodgersW. L.The quality of American life. New York: Russell Sage, 1976.
4.
CarminesE. G.ZellerR. A.Reliability and validity assessment. (Sage University Paper 07–017)Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1979.
5.
CronbachL. J.Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 1951, 16, 297–334.
6.
CrowneD. P.MarloweD.The approval motive. New York: Wiley, 1964.
7.
EdmondsV. H.Marital conventionalization: Definition and measurement. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1967, 29, 681–688.
8.
GottmanJ. M.Marital interaction: Experimental investigations. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
9.
GottmanJ. M.Emotional responsiveness in marital conversations. Journal of Communication, 1982, 16, 108–119.
10.
GottmanJ. M.Temporal form: Toward a new language for describing relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1982, 44, 943–962.
11.
MitchellS. L.NewellG. K.SchummW. R.Test-retest reliability of the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. Psychological Reports, 1983, 53, 545–546.
12.
NieN. H.SPSSx user's guide. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983.
13.
O'LearyK. D.TurkewitzH.Methodological errors in marital and child treatment research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46, 747–758.
14.
OlsonD. H.McCubbinH. I.BarnesH. L.LarsenA.MuxenM.WilsonM.Families: What makes them work. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1983.
15.
OlsonD. H.McCubbinH. I.BarnesH. L.LarsenA.MuxenM.WilsonM.Family inventories: Inventories used in a national survey of families across the family life cycle. St. Paul, MN: Department of Family Social Science, 290 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, Univer. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108. (May be ordered for $37.50 as of Fall, 1984.).
16.
PowersW. G.HutchinsonK.The measurement of communication apprehension in the marriage relationship. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1979, 41, 89–95.
17.
RosenbergM.Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univer. Press, 1965.
18.
SchummW. R.AndersonS. A.BenigasJ. E.McCutchenM. B.GriffinC. L.MorrisJ. E.RaceG. S.Criterion-related validity of the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. Psychological Reports, 1985, 56, 719–722.
19.
SchummW. R.AndersonS. A.RaceG. S.MorrisJ. E.GriffinC. L.McCutchenM. B.BenigasJ. E.Construct validity of the Marital Communication Inventory. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 1983, 9, 153–162.
20.
SchummW. R.BenigasJ. E.McCutchenM. B.GriffinC. L.AndersonS. A.MorrisJ. E.RaceG. S.Measuring empathy, regard, and congruence in the marital relationship. Journal of Social Psychology, 1983, 119, 141–142.
SchummW. R.NicholsC. W.ShectmanK. L.GrigsbyC. C.Characteristics of responses to the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale by a sample of 84 married mothers. Psychological Reports, 1983, 53, 567–572.
23.
SchummW. R.Paff-BergenL. A.HatchR. C.ObiorahF. C.CopelandJ. M.MeensL. F.BugaighisM. A.Concurrent and discriminant validity of the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. Journal of Marriage and the Family, in press.
