FACTORS CHARACTERIZING MARITAL CONFLICT STATES AND TRAITS - PHYSIOLOGICAL, AFFECTIVE, BEHAVIORAL AND NEUROTIC VARIABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO MARITAL CONFLICT AND SATISFACTION

Thirty-two married couples participated in conjoint-conflict-solving i nteractions while being videotaped and physiologically monitored. Inte rcorrelations between 13 variables (3 self-report, 6 observational and 4 physiological) produced six factors: Dominance, Neuroticism/Negativ e Affect, Affiliation/Positive Affect, Attentiveness, Physiological Ar ousal and Physiological Influence. Neuroticism/Negative Affect was inv ersely related to marital satisfaction. The Physiological Arousal fact or was 'U'-shaped in its association with marital satisfaction (i.e. s ubjects with higher marital satisfaction exhibited synchrony in the ac tivation of electrodermal and heart rate systems, whereas asynchrony [ high activation in one system and low activation in the other] was mor e common in dissatisfied couples). These findings demonstrate the util ity of combining personality, behavioral and physiological measures in characterizing and predicting marital satisfaction and conflict-relat ed communication patterns. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.