Given the nature of couple conflict, couples are frequently tasked with mutually working towards a solution to a given problem. Effective conflict management is a key relationship resource that maintains closeness and cohesiveness (Epstein & Baucom, 2002; Overall & Simpson, 2013), whereas ineffective conflict management is generally associated with impaired relationship functioning (Gottman & Notarius, 2000; Overall & Fletcher, 2010). The overarching goal of the present thesis therefore consisted of further advancing the field’s understanding of conflict management as an interpersonal process in heterosexual couple relationships. This goal was addressed through two novel and complementary studies. The sample for both studies consisted of 179 community-based heterosexual adult couples involved in a long-term romantic relationship. During the testing session, participants completed a questionnaire package and discussed a topic of disagreement for 15 minutes. These interactions were then coded for both positive and negative conflict management behaviours. Both studies modeled these conflict management behaviours alongside crucial variables involved in couple conflict. The first study examined the ways in which partners’ adult romantic attachment orientations interact to predict their conflict management behaviours. As hypothesized, the results provide preliminary evidence that, in some cases, men’s and women’s conflict management depends on the interaction between their own and their partner’s adult romantic attachment orientation, more so than a sole individual’s attachment. The second study examined whether effective conflict management moderates the negative association between relationship satisfaction and men’s and women’s use of psychological partner aggression. Contrary to hypotheses, the results suggest that, in predicting these aggressive acts, relationship satisfaction and conflict management make fairly independent contributions. These findings are based on strong theoretical frameworks as well as a number of methodological strengths, including the observational coding of positive and negative conflict management behaviours and the implementation of sophisticated dyadic data analyses. Furthermore, by filling gaps in the existing literature, these findings offer several theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications for the field of couple conflict. As individual and collective bodies of work, the studies of the present thesis provide invaluable evidence in support of the complex and interdependent nature of couple relationships. Such findings are highly relevant to couple researchers and clinicians alike, both of whom endeavour to understand and improve couple relationship functioning.

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This dissertation investigated the bottom-up technology transmission process in a country with varied levels of technology diffusion, such as Chile. In particular, I explored how children act as technology brokers within their families by influencing their parents' adoption of and learning about digital media, so as to include older generations in the digital environment. In order to do this, I measured to what extent this process occurs, I proposed a typology of factors that intervene in the process and analyzed the outcomes variables related to the phenomenon. Methodologically, I used a mixed-methods research approach by combining in-depth interviews with a self-administered paper-and-pencil survey taken by dyads of one parent and one child. I analyzed 28 interviews involving one 12 to 18-year-old child and one parent or legal guardian (14 dyads) stratified by socioeconomic background, age, and gender. In addition, I conducted the parent-child survey among school-aged children and their parents in three schools, stratified by socioeconomic status. One class per cohort from 7th to 11th grades was randomly surveyed. In total, 381 students and 251 parents completed the surveys. The analyses showed that bottom-up technology transmission occurs at some degree for all the technologies investigated in this study. However, children's influence should not be overstated because they play only one part among a number of factors involved in the digital inclusion of older generations. It also established a typology of factors related to the process at different levels, including structural influences, family structure, strategies employed by youth, and psychological dispositions of parents. Specifically, the analyses consistently found that this process was more likely to occur among people from a lower socioeconomic status. Also, the transmission was associated with more fluid parent-child interactions and occurred among parents who perceived the technology to be useful. Regarding the outcome variables, it demonstrated that this phenomenon is linked, although weakly, to greater levels of perceived competence among parents and higher esteem among young people. Finally, it suggested that bottom-up technology transmission is associated with the reduction of some socioeconomic gaps in digital media use. / text

Clark (2008) analyzed the role of provocation on dating partners’ level of aggression and found they were more aggressive in jealousy-provoking situations. Using the couple-level dataset collected by Clark, we examine the relationship of gender and setting on provoked interpersonal violence, and compare the accuracy of several analytical approaches on interpreting dyadic data. Results indicate some findings from Clark are extremely robust. For instance, consistent with previous findings, the significant role of provocation on aggression in a dating context is further supported in the current study (Bettencourt & Miller, 1996; Jacquin et al., 2006). Clark suggested gender symmetry in levels of aggression. However, results show a significant effect of gender, in that females were more passive aggressive than males. One implication of this study is that when analyzing dyadic data, a multi-level modeling (MLM) approach best represents the relationship between the outcome and predictors when compared to other analytical approaches.

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abstract: In the present research, elements of the intra- (i.e., family dynamics) and extra-family (i.e., characteristics of parents' occupations) contexts were examined in a longitudinal design as associated, broadly, with individuals' mental health, relationship quality, and future orientations among Mexican American families with adolescent offspring in two separate studies. The first study reviewed the utility of applying dyadic data methods to the investigation of family processes, explored the strengths three different analytic approaches (i.e., the actor-partner interdependence model, a two-intercept model, and a difference model), and applied them to the study of marital relationships (N = 246 marital dyads). Results revealed that spouses' marital negativity was related to their own somatic symptoms, whereas, spouses' somatic symptoms were associated with both their own and their partners' marital negativity, with some variations by approach. This study suggested the three analytic approaches, though designed to answer slightly different questions, yielded a similar pattern of results with several important differences. The second study utilized a person-centered approach to identify family-level patterns of both mothers' and fathers' objective occupational characteristics (i.e., self-direction, hazardous conditions, physical activity), as well as the larger sociocultural context of these patterns (N = 160 dual-earner families). Results revealed three distinct occupational contexts: Differentiated High Physical Activity, Incongruent, and Congruent High Self-Direction. Results indicated that families in the Congruent High Self-Direction profile had the highest levels of youth career aspirations, whereas, educational aspirations were the highest among youth in both the Incongruent and Congruent High Self-Direction profiles. Youth-mother and -father conflict was highest in the Congruent High Self-Direction profile, and youth-father warmth was highest for families in the Differentiated High Physical Activity profile. This study suggested that Mexican American parents work in varied occupational contexts, and these contexts were differentially associated with family relationships and youth's orientations toward the future. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Family and Human Development 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine how sexual satisfaction in older marriages (marriages with at least one spouse between the ages of 55 and 75) was affected by family-of-origin distress (recent measure of recollection of childhood experiences) and marital distress (measure of current marital relationship) for husbands and wives. The hypotheses of this study were that both family-of-origin distress and marital distress would have negative effects on sexual satisfaction for older couples, with marital distress having a direct, negative effect on sexual satisfaction and with family-of-origin distress having an indirect, negative effect on sexual satisfaction through its influence on marital distress. The sample consisted of 614 older couples (approximate average age of 65 for husbands and 62 for wives) who participated in the Project Couple Retire research project which provided the data for this study. Each participant completed the Project Couple Retire questionnaire which included the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (MSI-R) (1997), the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (PAIR) (1981), and other instruments measuring various factors relating to older marriages. A conceptual model was created consisting of three latent variables: sexual satisfaction, family-of-origin distress, and marital distress. The latent dependent variable, sexual satisfaction, was measured by the MSI-R sexual dissatisfaction (SEX) scale and the sexual intimacy scale of the PAIR inventory. One of the latent independent variables, family-of-origin distress, was originally measured by both the MSI-R family history of distress (FAM) scale and an additional instrument from the Project Couple Retire questionnaire measuring history of abuse. However, the history of abuse measure was eventually dropped from the study due to poor measurement fit. The other latent independent variable, marital distress, was measured by the affective communication (AFC) and time together (TTO) scales of the MSI-R. The data in this study was dyadic, with each variable including data from both husbands and wives. Therefore, both actor and partner effects were examined. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the conceptual model. Findings indicated that both family-of-origin distress and marital distress negatively affected sexual satisfaction in older marriages for both husbands and wives when considering both indirect and direct effects.

Couples experiencing relationship distress often require professional help, such as counseling and couple and relationship education (CRE). Research recently discovered that among couples in counseling, a circular relationship exists between individual and relationship distress-stress begets stress. Until this study, a similar examination had not been conducted among couples selecting CRE. This study examined the relationship between individual and relationship distress among married couples that had children, were from predominantly low-income and racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, and selected CRE. A correlational research design was employed and framed in the social interdependence theory. The actor-partner interdependence model was conducted within a three-level hierarchical model. The results confirmed that a circular relationship exists between individual and relationship distress-distress begets distress. Within the circular model of individual and relational functioning, personal individual distress predicted partner individual distress as well as personal and partner relationship distress, and personal relationship distress predicted personal individual distress and partner relationship distress. The extent to which distress begot distress was stronger among women, those with low income, and those who were unemployed. The results also revealed a continuum of individual and relational functioning. Dyad members interact along a continuum from intrapersonal individual functioning to interpersonal relational functioning. The continua meet at the nexus of negotiation or the heart of interpersonal interaction, where dyad members communicate and make decisions, among other actions. Implications related to the findings of this study as well as inspirations for future research are discussed.