Demand-withdraw interaction is a pattern of communication in which one person demands change from another who withdraws. In the treatment domain, evidence of parallel demand-withdraw processes comes from a study of couple therapy for alcoholic men, where wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction predicted poor response to a high-demand intervention (Shoham et al., 1998). The current study extends this parallelprocess idea to family therapy for substance-using adolescents by examining whether adolescents entrenched in parent-demand/adolescent-withdraw interaction are less likely to engage in treatment and more likely to use drugs post-treatment when counselors pressure them to change. Participants were 91 families who received ≥ 4 sessions of Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT; Szapocznik et al., 2003) in a multi-site clinical trial on adolescent drug abuse and an additional non-engagement sample of 21 families who completed ≤ 2 sessions. Before randomization, families completed videotaped family interaction tasks from which trained observers coded parent-demand/adolescent-withdraw. Another team of raters coded therapists’ demands during an early and (for most cases) a later BSFT session, while a third team rated quality of BSFT. The main dependent variable was a composite index of adolescent substance use based on monthly self-reports and urine drug screens over 12 months. A matched-sample examination of sessions attended (≤ 2 vs. ≥ 4) revealed no effect of early-session therapist demand on engagement. However, multi-level models partially supported the main hypothesis: adolescents high in parent-demand/adolescent withdraw who received high-quality BSFT from relatively non-demanding therapists used fewer drugs during and after treatment than other adolescent participants. Furthermore, as therapist demand on high PD/AW adolescents increased, youth substance use also increased. Results suggest that attending to parallel demand-withdraw processes in parent/adolescent and therapist/adolescent dyads may be useful in family therapy for substance-using adolescents. Replicating ineffective parent behavior within the therapeutic system may undermine the prospect of decreased adolescent drug use outcomes.

Consistently researchers have demonstrated that marital interactions of couples with and without a depressed partner differ. Given the high comorbidity of depression and marital distress, it is unclear whether observed communication patterns are due to marital distress or depression. Recent investigations suggest that, after controlling for marital satisfaction, marital communication behaviours may not be specific to depression. However, depressed groups in these investigations may have consisted of individuals with a wide range of acute mood states, thus minimizing differences between depressed and non-depressed mood states. Consistent with cognitive vulnerability models of depression, depressed individuals’ dysfunctional behaviours may manifest only during negative mood states. The first purpose of the present study was to use a mood induction procedure (MIP) to examine whether any marital communication were specific to depression, after controlling for marital satisfaction. The second purpose of the study was to examine whether communication behaviours predicted depressive symptoms at 6-month follow-up. The hypotheses were tested in a sample of 69 couples characterized by a wide range of wife depressive symptoms and couple marital satisfaction. Results of the current study showed that women who endorsed higher depressive symptoms were more likely to use high-level negative demands (e.g., use of angry, belligerent tone) and indirect demands (e.g., use of flirting, whining, or nagging tone) after they received a sad MIP, but depressive symptoms were not related to these behaviours when there was no MIP. Interestingly, depressive symptoms were positively correlated with low-level negative demands (attempts to influence one’s partner in a frustrated, defensive manner) regardless of whether or not wives received a sad MIP. Results also showed that when wives were induced with a sad mood, husbands of wives who endorsed higher levels of depressive symptoms engaged in more positive demands (e.g., use of warmth and understanding). Additionally, preliminary longitudinal data suggest that, wives who engaged in higher levels of high-level negative demands report lower levels of subsequent depressive symptoms. These findings are discussed in light of interpersonal theories of depression. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-28 09:52:59.682

Relationship conflict puts individuals at risk for emotional distress and physical illness. Although many studies in the field have focused on examining cardiovascular, endocrine, and immunological changes associated with relationship conflict, the role of central nervous system processes in relationship functioning remains vastly underexplored. The present study examined frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry during discussions of disagreements in romantic partners. Asymmetrical brain activity over the frontal cortex has been conceptualized in the literature as both a trait and state indicator of approach and withdrawal behaviors, with relatively greater left than right frontal activity corresponding to approach behaviors and relatively less left than right frontal activity corresponding to withdrawal behaviors. It was hypothesized that during discussions of disagreements in romantic partners, relatively greater left than right frontal activity would be associated with approach of discussion whereas relatively less left than right frontal EEG asymmetry would be associated with avoidance of discussion. It was also hypothesized that partners would engage in higher level of approach behaviors and exhibit relatively greater left than right frontal activity during discussion of the issue in the relationship that they chose to discuss relative to the issue chosen by their partner. Fifty heterosexual college couples in romantic relationships for at least two months came to the laboratory for a 2.5-hour experimental session, during which self-reported measures were administered, EEG activity was recorded continuously from both partners, and interactions were video-recorded. Participants were asked to engage in 2 discussions of topics on which they disagreed, in counterbalanced order, and each partner was given an opportunity to select an issue to be discussed (Her Issue vs. His Issue). After each discussion, participants were asked to watch a video-recording of their discussions and rate themselves continuously, using a computer mouse, on how much they approached and avoided the discussion. After excluding left-handed participants and data unusable due to equipment failure, data from 25 couples were analyzed. Consistent with the study hypothesis, during discussion of Her Issue, in female partners, greater self-reported rating of approach of discussion was associated with relatively greater left than right frontal activity at F4-F3 and F2-F1 EEG leads. However, there was no significant association between rating of approach of discussion and frontal EEG asymmetry at any of the sites in males during Her Issue, and no effects of rating of approach of discussion on frontal EEG asymmetry at any of the sites during His Issue in either males or females. Consistent with the study hypothesis, both female and male participants evidenced greater rating of approach of discussion during the issue they chose to discuss relative to their partners' issue. Additionally, consistent with the study prediction, males evidenced relatively greater left than right frontal activity measured by the overall asymmetry across 4 regions as well as at F6-F5, F4-F3, and F2-F1 during His Issue relative to Her Issue, and females exhibited greater relative left frontal activity at F8-F7 during Her Issue relative to His Issue. However, there were no significant differences in level of frontal EEG asymmetry measured at other EEG sites. There was a significant positive association between own approach of discussion, as derived from a self-report measure of Demand-Withdraw, and relatively greater left than right frontal activity at F8-F7, F6-F5, and F4-F3 during Her Issue but not His Issue. The current study provided partial support for the association between approach and withdrawal interactions and frontal EEG asymmetry during discussions of disagreements in romantic partners. Future studies should establish whether patterns of changes in frontal EEG activity associated with these interactions have an effect on relationship quality and satisfaction, partners' ability to resolve disagreements, and partners' psychological and physical health.

abstract: Guided by Alberts, Tracy and Trethewey's (2011) integrated theory of the division of domestic labor, this dissertation examined the influence of domestic labor response threshold (i.e., the point at which one is sufficiently disturbed by a task undone so as to feel compelled to attend to it) on domestic labor performance and domestic labor conflict. Three-hundred-ten heterosexual participants (155 marital dyads; average marriage length of 20 years) completed an online questionnaire about their performance of household labor, household labor conflict, and response thresholds. Response thresholds were assessed using traditional verbal measures as well as two visual (i.e., photographic) measures developed for this investigation. The data were analyzed using three methods of dyadic data analysis: structural equation modeling, repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and actor-partner interdependence models using multilevel modeling. Results indicate that the lower one's response threshold, and the higher one's partner's response threshold, the greater one's contributions to household tasks. Additionally, the lower one's response threshold, and the higher one's partner's response thresholds, the more likely the demand-withdrawal pattern is to emerge in domestic labor conflicts. Finally, mutual avoidance is more likely when one partner perceives that it is less costly to complete domestic work than to engage in conflict about it, or when one partner perceives that domestic labor is not a worthwhile or appropriate conflict topic. Contributions of this investigation include support for the integrated theory of the division of domestic labor, increased understanding of how individual differences (working in concert with actor sex) contribute to domestic labor allocation and conflict, a more sensitive measure of response threshold, and preliminary evidence of the "logics" of avoidance of domestic labor conflict. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Communication 2012

This study examined the effects of premarital counseling on newlywed communication. It was predicted that individuals who had participated in premarital counseling would have lower levels of demand/withdrawal communication and higher levels of spousal support. The effects of the format of the counseling were also examined. Individuals who had been married less than two years completed a survey measuring their marital satisfaction, levels of demand/withdraw, and perceived spousal support. Social learning theory was used as a theoretical lens. Results suggested that participating in premarital counseling has no affect on newlywed communication. Newlyweds who had been exposed to a group format during their counseling had higher marital satisfaction than those who had just participated in a one-on-one format with a counselor.