In order to further our understanding of conflict within a marital relation
ship, this study had two purposes: (i) to identify married couples' conflic
t response profiles, and (ii) to relate these conflict profiles to appraisa
ls of marital quality. Spouses in 173 intact married couples completed a qu
estionnaire that included measures of a sample of aggressive, withdrawing,
and problem-solving responses occurring during conflict episodes, and indic
es of marital quality. Cluster analyses of married dyads' conflict response
s generated four conceptually interesting profiles - two symmetrical ('dist
ancing couples' and 'engaging couples') and two asymmetrical ('distancing h
usbands' and 'distancing wives'). Results indicated that couples who endors
e different conflict profiles could be distinguished according to their lev
el of marital adjustment. The advantages to understanding conflict response
s within a marriage by studying the couple as the unit of analysis were hig
hlighted.