The effects of extramarital sex on depression and commitment were examined in couples seeking marital therapy. One hundred and twenty couples completed a standard assessment battery which assessed level of depression, level of commitment and demographic variables. Couples presenting extramarital sex as an issue reported higher rates of depression and lower levels of commitment to their marriages. In fact, all couples presenting extramarital sex indicated either lowered commitment, elevated depression, or both. Interestingly, it was the spouse engaging in extramarital sex who was most likely to show higher levels of depression and/or lower levels of commitment than other same sex spouses presenting for marital therapy. The need for individual sessions with the spouse engaging in extramarital sex as a preliminary step in marital therapy is discussed.

Systematic biases of observational recordings of behavior as a function of experimental hypotheses were investigated. Predictions of decrease and of no change in level of recorded behavior as a function of "treatment" were given, respectively, to two groups of five pairs of observers. Both groups viewed the same videotapes, selected to show no change from "baseline" to "treatment." Global evaluations of treatment effects were significantly affected by predicted results, but behavioral recordings were not. Observational recordings were increased by knowledge by observers that reliability was being assessed, computation of reliability within (versus between) observer pairs, and computation of reliability by the observers (versus the experimenter). Implications of these findings for studies utilizing observational data are discussed.

The influence of behavioral marital therapy on sexual satisfaction was assessed in 44 consecutive cases for which pre and post data were obtained. There were significant increases in both marital and sexual satisfaction associated with marital therapy. Sexual problems were presented in approximately 40% of the cases, but whether sex was presented as a problem or not generally did not affect therapy outcome. Positive feelings toward spouse or caring for one's spouse improved significantly from pre- to posttherapy.