Life-Stage Differences in Communication During Marital Conflicts

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Abstract
Conversations involving young, middle-aged and retired married couples were analyzed to shed light on the characteristics of communication within older marriages. The research indicated that retired couples were the least analytic and most non-committal in their remarks. Generally, retired couples rated marital problems as non-salient and their conversations were non-conflictive. However, those among the retired group who perceived salient, unresolved problems in the marriage were extremely conflictive, producing chains of reciprocal confrontative statements. Middle-aged couples were also non-conflictive and non-committal in their discussions but, unlike the retired couples, middle-aged couples became analytic when marital problems were salient. Young couples had a comparatively intense, engagement style of interaction, characterized by alternation between analytic, confrontative and humorous remarks. The results suggest that marital communication is shaped by a combination of developmental, life stage and cohort influences.