Adding Insult to Injury

Abstract

Intimates regularly confront their partners to motivate them to change undesirable behaviors. Nevertheless, contextual perspectives suggest that qualities of the partner may determine the implications of such attempts. Consistent with these ideas, a pilot study of romantic relationships, an observational study of newlyweds, and a diary study of married couples demonstrated that partner depression moderates the association between confrontational partner-regulation behaviors and partners' motivation, such that confrontational behaviors were associated with marginally greater motivation to resolve problems among partners who were experiencing relatively few depressive symptoms, but significantly less motivation among partners who were experiencing relatively more depressive symptoms. Furthermore, Study 2 provided evidence for the mechanism of these effects--relationship self-efficacy. Finally, these studies also demonstrated that benevolent behaviors were particularly motivating for partners who were experiencing more depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the important roles played by depression, relationship self-efficacy, and context in interpersonal communication.

Direct communication of conflict in close relationships and intention to change behavior: A within-person experiment

“…Results showed that direct regulation attempts, regardless of opposing versus cooperative, were significantly associated with increased partner behavior change (standardized partial regression coefficients of direct-opposing attempts were .23, and standardized partial regression coefficients of direct-cooperative attempts were .26-.27), whereas indirect regulation attempts were not significantly associated with behavior change. Subsequent studies have found an association between direct regulation attempts and behavior change to the extent that relationship problems are important and changeable (Baker & McNulty, 2015;McNulty & Russell, 2010).…”

“…A study of conflict in romantic couples showed that the less confident an actor was about resolving relationship problems, the less motivated the actor was to change their behavior (Baker & McNulty, 2015).…”

Ina- Manggagawa- Mag-aaral: The Lived Experiences, Challenges, Coping and Aspirations of Working- Student- Mothers

“…(P5 J38, 132, 242-245) Nargis ( 2012) discovered that preschoolaged children experience a reduction in the amount of time they spend with their mothers when their mothers are engaged in employment, often resulting in a decrease of up to 2 hours per day. Baker & McNulty (2015) suggest that in order to maintain a happy marriage, it is essential to reestablish a strong connection with one's partner and prioritize the marriage, as it has a significant impact on all other aspects of life.…”

The associations between relationship self‐regulation, partner regulation, and relationship outcomes: A meta‐analysis

“…Another limitation of the present research is that there were not enough studies to meta-analyze all theoretically and empirically important individual differences acknowledged within the partner regulation literature. For example, negative-direct partner regulation is shown to be particularly harmful for people with low self-esteem (Jayamaha & Overall, 2015) or those experiencing depression (Baker & McNulty, 2015). Further research and replication of findings is therefore warranted to provide clarity as to the conditions under which partner regulation may be associated with relationship quality and success.…”