The Role of Conflict Resolution Styles in Mediating the Relationship Between Enduring Vulnerabilities and Marital Quality

Abstract

This investigation examines the role of negative affectivity and conflict styles on newlywed couples' marital satisfaction. The vulnerability-stress-adaptation (VSA) model of marital development was used to explain relationships between enduring vulnerabilities, adaptive processes, and marital quality. Dyadic analyses and tests of mediation were performed on data from 194 couples in the first 5 years of their marriage. Results indicate that wives' negative affectivity is significantly associated with their own lower marital satisfaction and husbands' lower marital satisfaction. However, husbands' negative affectivity is only associated with their own lower marital satisfaction. For all spouses, negative affectivity was associated with a tendency to engage in more dysfunctional conflict styles. Tests of mediation indicate that positive problem solving, and to a lesser extent, conflict engagement, and withdrawal were able to partially explain the relationship between negative affectivity and marital quality. This study highlights the impact communication processes have at a dyadic level in marital relationships.