Communication has long been associated with the well-being of a couple's relationship, and it is also important to explore associations with individual well-being. This study examined the associations between emotions communicated within couple interactions and each partner's psychopathology symptoms concurrently and up to 3 years later. Vocally-encoded emotional arousal (f₀) was measured during couples' (N = 56) conversations. Analyses examined each partner's trajectories of f₀ and how each partner influenced the other's f₀ across the conversation. The findings indicated that women experienced higher symptoms if they (a) decreased more steeply in f₀ overall and (b) returned to their baseline in f₀ more quickly. Moreover, women had higher symptoms if they had a steeper return to baseline because of men's elevated f₀. In contrast, men experienced higher symptoms when men (a) more slowly returned to baseline and (b) changed their f₀ trajectory because of women's elevated f₀. That is, women who expressed less emotional arousal, independently and as a result of the influence of their male partner, experienced more symptoms. In contrast, men's symptoms were differentially associated with their own independent experience of emotional arousal (in which he experienced fewer symptoms when changing arousal more quickly) from how they responded to women's arousal. Given how differently men's and women's psychopathology were associated with emotional expression, these findings raise questions about how partners can communicate to protect their own and their partner's mental health in the short- and long-term. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship distress and divorce are major risk factors for the development or exacerbation of psychopathology and psychosocial impairments. Given that heightened negative emotions within couples' interactions may portend negative relationship outcomes, it is critical to understand how emotions unfold across a conversation and how partners may influence each other's immediate emotional experiences. This study examined whether these regulatory dynamics within one interaction predicted relationship satisfaction concurrently and 25 years later. Vocally-encoded emotional arousal (f0 ) was measured during couples' (N = 25 couples) conversations about a relationship issue. Across different analytical strategies, results demonstrate that one partner's f0 dynamics had immediate and long-term associations with the other partner's satisfaction. Partners were less satisfied if the other partner (a) expressed higher f0 overall and (b) escalated more in f0 across the conversation. Yet, partners were more satisfied when their f0 escalated across the conversation. Also, women specifically were more satisfied if their f0 remained elevated longer before regulating back to their emotional baseline. Thus, higher f0 was associated with higher satisfaction in the same partner, but associated with less satisfaction in the other partner-particularly when these emotions come from women. It may be that partners have to decide whether to prioritize expressing their emotions fully or limit expression in the service of their partner's happiness. These findings challenge us to think of ways to address this "win-lose" scenario so that couples can balance both partners' emotional needs and preserve relationship quality across the life span.

Background:Divorce and destructive couple conflict are major risk factors for many forms of dysfunction and psychopathology in the family. Couple relationship education has been offered in an attempt to reduce those risks and enhance couple outcomes. Aim:The current effectiveness study had three aims: to assess the 25-year outcome of relationship education on (a) separation, (b) long-term marital quality, and (c) usage of the EPL speaker and listener rules. Method:Ninety-six premarital couples, in 1988, participated in a study in which the effectiveness of the EPL I (Ein Partnerschaftliches Lernprogramm für heiratswillige Paare [A Learning Program for Premarital Couples]) was investigated. n= 64 couples self-selected to participate in the EPL I, n= 32 were part of the control group (CG). The couples were assessed prior to and after the EPL I, and 1.5, 3, 5, and 25 years later. Results:After 5 and 25 years, EPL I participants had a significantly lower divorce rate (4%/5%) than participant couples in the comparison group (24%/26%). Approximately 60% of the partners indicated that they still used the EPL communication speaker and listener skills often/very often in everyday life. Over 98% would recommend the EPL training to other couples. At the 25-year follow-up, for those couples still together, the rates of happy relationships were 83% (EPL) and 72% (CG). Over 25 years, there were no significant differences between EPL and CG partners with regard to relationship quality (Locke-Wallace MAT). Conclusion:These findings are the first to show that couple relationship enhancement (CRE) interventions can have a very long-lasting effect on relationship stability. CRE interventions should play a major role in public health.

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Die Qualität der partnerschaftlichen, verbalen Kommunikation ist ein entscheidender Faktor für Trennung und Scheidung. Durch Konjunktionen können Satzteile sinnvoll miteinander verknüpft und Beziehungen zwischen ihnen hergestellt werden. Fragestellung: Lässt sich anhand von in Konfliktgesprächen verwendeten Konjunktionen die Scheidungswahrscheinlichkeit und die Partnerschaftszufriedenheit von Ehepaaren nach fünf und 25 Jahren vorhersagen? Methode: Zur Untersuchung dieser Hypothesen wurden 172 Transkripte von N = 65 zufriedenen Ehepaaren linguistisch ausgewertet. Ergebnisse: Mithilfe von logistischen und linearen Regressionsmodellen konnte gezeigt werden, dass die verwendeten Konjunktionen einen signifikanten Prädiktor (Schutzfaktor) für die Vorhersage der Scheidungswahrscheinlichkeit darstellen. Zur Vorhersage der Partnerschaftszufriedenheit eigneten sie sich hingegen zu keinem der beiden Untersuchungszeitpunkte. Schlussfolgerungen: Insgesamt stellte der Konjunktionsgebrauch einen Indikator für komplexe soziale Interaktionsprozesse dar.

Background: The quality of language communication between partners is a determining factor for separation and divorce. Conjunctions are used to connect sentences usefully and establish a relationship between them. Aim: This study examined whether divorce probability and marital satisfaction of a couple after 5 and 25 years of marriage could be predicted on the basis of the conjunctions used. Method: To investigate these hypotheses, 172 transcripts from N = 65 nondistressed couples (age: M = 27.4 years, SD = 4.5) were linguistically analyzed. Logistic and linear regression models were computed. Results: Conjunctions were a significant predictor of divorce probability (protective factor), while they were not a significant predictor of marital satisfaction. Conclusion: Conjunction usage represents an indicator of complex social interaction processes.

Relationship education programs such as Ehevorbereitung--Ein Partnerschaftliches Lernprogramm (Premarital Preparation--A Couples' Learning Program) and the Relationship Education and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) can help prevent marital distress among newlyweds. Thus, it is important to understand which couples respond best to the intervention and which couples respond less well. E. A. Schilling, D. H. Baucom, C. K. Burnett, E. A. Allen, and L. Ragland (2003) unexpectedly found that the more women increased positive communication in response to PREP, the more likely they were to become distressed in the subsequent 5 years. The current study explores similar issues, investigating a relationship education program in Germany. The current results indicate that couples are susceptible to future relationship distress if women demonstrate extreme increases in positive and decreases in negative communication after intervention. Implications are provided for adapting these relationship education programs in the future.

Measures of communication, hostility, and neuroticism taken from 85 couples from Germany before marriage were used to predict marital outcomes 5 years later. Hostility and neuroticism discriminated between couples who separated or divorced after 5 years and those who remained married, whereas communication discriminated between married-satisfied and married- dissatisfied couples. Only hostility and neuroticism predicted marital satisfaction at 18 months, suggesting that these factors contribute to rapid, early declines in marital functioning. The authors conclude that poor communication alone cannot account for the full range of marital outcomes and that skill-based models of marriage can be strengthened by considering relatively rare exchanges between partners (e.g., aggression) and their enduring vulnerabilities (e.g., neuroticism).

This article reports on the long-term efficacy of a marital distress prevention program for German couples, the EPL (Ein Partnerschaftliches Lernprogramm). The EPL is a six session group training program designed to teach couples effective communication and problem-solving skills. The EPL was evaluated in a prospective, quasi-experimental, controlled dissemination trial. Here the results of the five year follow-up are reported, contrasting 44 EPL-couples with a control group of 13 couples. Significant differences emerged with regard to the couples' relationship satisfaction and positive and negative communication behavior favoring the EPL-couples. Furthermore, the dissolution rate was significantely lower in the EPL group. The implications of the findings for prevention research and for the dissimination of prevention programs are discussed.

In Kapiteln 1 und 4 wurde die Zusammensetzung des Bildungsprogramms bereits im Ansatz beschrieben. Um mit Paaren im Übergang zur Elternschaft paarorientiert zu arbeiten, sind verschiedene Bausteine notwendig: Die Meta-Kompetenzen des/der Gruppenleiterin, die gewünschten Inhalte (Im Handbuch unter den Expertlnnenbeiträge verschiedener Autorinnen zu finden), die aktuellen Problemlagen der Paare und die methodischen Zugänge in der Gruppenarbeit. Dabei gilt: Je höher der Anteil der Selbsterfahrung in der Elterngruppe ist, d.h. je intensiver die Gefühle und Erfahrungen der Frauen und Männer beleuchtet werden sollen, desto bedeutender sind die Kompetenzen der GruppenleiterInnen hinsichtlich Kommunikation, Gesprächsführung, Einfühlung und Konfliktmanagement in der Gruppe. Im vorliegenden Kapitel werden diese Fertigkeiten Meta-Kompetenzen genannt. Die vier Beiträge dieses Kapitels nähern sich der Aneignung und Vermittlung solcher Meta-Kompetenzen (auf Seiten der Gruppenleiterinnen oder — wie z.B. in Kapitel 5 — zur Kommunikation für die Eltern) auf unterschiedlichen Wegen.

Zusammenfassung. In diesem Projekt wurde zum ersten Mal im deutschsprachigen Raum ein Ehevorbereitungsprogramm (EPL = Ein Partnerschaftliches Lernprogramm) mittels einer quasiexperimentellen Langzeitstudie mit multimethodaler Diagnostik auf seine kurz- und langfristige Effektivität empirisch überprüft. An der Prä-Messung nahmen in der EPL-Gruppe N = 64 Paare teil, in der Kontrollgruppe N = 32 Paare. Nach 5 Jahren konnten N = 44 EPL- und N = 13 Kontrollpaare nachuntersucht werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die EPL-Paare dauerhaftere Lerneffekte in Form von konstruktiverer Kommunikation aufweisen, die sich in einer stabileren Ehezufriedenheit und in wesentlich geringeren Trennungs- und Scheidungsraten im Vergleich zu den Paaren der Kontrollgruppe niederschlagen.

This article reports on the development and long-term evaluation of a marital distress prevention program for German couples, the fin Partnerschaftliches Lern-programm (EPL, A Couple's Learning Program). The EPL is a 6-session program designed to teach couples effective communication and problem-solving skills. In the current article, the EPL is evaluated in a prospective, quasi-experimental, controlled trial. The results of the 3-year follow-up are reported, contrasting 55 EPL couples with a control group of 17 couples. Significant differences emerged with regard to the couples' dissolution rates, relationship satisfaction, and positive and negative communication behavior favoring the EPL couples. These results demonstrate the utility of the EPL program in assisting happy couples who are preparing for marriage. The implications of the findings for prevention research and for the dissemination of prevention programs are discussed.

In a previous article, Riehl-Emde and Willi (1993) discussed the ambivalence of professional marital and family therapists towards the prevention of martial distress. In this article some of their criticisms are discussed, e.g. the norm-orientation and the social context of these programs. Since the authors raised doubts concerning the longterm-effectiveness of premarital prevention programs recent data from the EPL-study (Ehevorbereitung: Ein Partnerschaftliches Lern-programm) is presented. The EPL-program is designed to teach couples effective communication and conflict management skills. The effectiveness of the EPL was evaluated using 77 EPL- and 32 control-couples and a comprehensive assessment battery. At the 3-year follow-up EPL-couples showed higher levels of both relationship satisfaction and communication skills than control couples. Furthermore, the rate of separation and divorce was significantly lower. Marital and family therapists should reconsider their critical stance towards the prevention of marital distress.

The results of a study are presented, which investigated the application of the Five-Minute-Speechsample to the area of partnership-diagnosis. Using a self-developed coding system, speech samples of N=206 subjects were coded. The coding included a global assessment of the subject's satisfaction with his/her partner/partnership and a quantitive registration of all his/her critical or positive remarks. An evaluation of the coding system was done to determine its inter-rater reliability and its concurrent and predictive validity. The results prove the system's validity for the area of partnership-diagnosis and an inter-rater reliability ranging from satisfactory to good. The use of the FMSS as an open-ended procedure is recommended in addition to more structured psychometric tests.