The interaction between marital standards and communication patterns: How does it contribute to marital adjustment?

Couples' cognitions about marriage and their communication patterns have bo th been found to be highly associated with marital distress. To examine the relationships among marital cognitions, communication, and marital adjustm ent, we had a sample of 387 community couples complete three self-report me asures: the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Inventory of Specific Relationship Standards, and the Communication Patterns Questionnaire. Results indicated that the correlation of communication with marital adjustment is higher fo r women with more relationship-focused standards than for women with less r elationship-focused standards; this interaction does not occur for men. The implications of the interaction and the gender difference as well as the i mportance of teaching communication skills, and working,with associated cog nitions are discussed.