Communication

Abstract

In theory, good couple communication is associated with experiencing less serious problems and a high level of marital satisfaction. However, is this assertion true in the context of stepfamilies? Indeed, couples in stepfamilies often experience, from the outset, certain difficulties that may be due not to their communication skills, but rather to events originating from outside marital dynamics such as the presence of children and former spouses. The goal of this study is to verify whether the specific challenges faced by stepfamilies are as significant as communication difficulties in predicting marital satisfaction. The results reveal that spouses' communication skills play a major and significant role in predicting marital satisfaction for both men and women. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between the presence of children from a previous union and certain difficulties experienced by male spouses. The implications of these results, as well as the difficulties of recruiting from this population are discussed.