Communication Behaviors as Predictors of Long-Term Dyadic Adjustment: Personality as a Moderator

Abstract

Abstract —In this longitudinal study, we examined the moderating role of personality in the relationship between communication behaviors and long-term dyadic adjustment. A sample of 82 couples completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. These couples were also videotaped during a 15-minute problem-solving discussion. Approximately 2.5 years later, these couples completed again the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results show that personality of both men and women moderates the relationship between communication behaviors of the partner and long-term dyadic adjustment of the individual. Women’s openness and men’s extraversion moderate the relationship between some communication behaviors and long-term dyadic adjustmen t Keywords — Communication Behavior, Couples, Dyadic Adjustment, Personality. I. I NTRODUCTION HE way couples deal with their inevitable conflicts seems to be a powerful predictor of couples’ adjustment and stability [1]-[5]. Observation of couples’ behavior during conflict-solving interactions has been a very informative way to study factors leading to marital stability and satisfaction. Marital distress has been linked with more negativity and less positivity during conflicts, negative reciprocity and difficulty getting out of the negative reciprocity cycle [1] as well as negative non-verbal communication [6]. Unhappy couples display, among others, more criticism, dominance and withdrawal, and less support and problem-solving behaviors [7] and the demand-withdraw pattern of interaction has been linked repeatedly to marital satisfaction, albeit in a inconsistent way [8], [9]. The level of positive and negative behaviors has been related to how fast marital satisfaction drops over time but not to satisfaction at the beginning of marriage [10]. However, it seems that positive affect neutralizes aversive behaviors so that they do not affect the decline of marital quality [11]. Despite the relationships found between observed couple interactions and marital satisfaction, relatively few studies have relied on observational data and