Asymmetric partner pronoun use and demand–withdraw interaction in couples coping with health problems.

Rentscher, Kelly E.; Rohrbaugh, Michael J.; Shoham, Varda; Mehl, Matthias R.

doi:10.1037/a0034184

Cited by 33 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…As noted by others (e.g., Rentscher, Rohrbaugh, Shoham, & Mehl, 2013), the constructs that underlie pronoun use are likely context‐dependent. For example, in the context of generally positive discussions of health problems, pronoun use may reflect a communal approach to coping with a health problem, whereas in the contexts of an argument, pronoun use may reflect other constructs such as the couples’ sense of togetherness or demand‐withdrawal patterns (Rentscher et al., ). In ABCT sessions, communal coping could be reflected in expressions of a joint goal for successful treatment from both partners rather than as an individual goal for the IP to address by him‐ or herself.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

We‐Language and Sustained Reductions in Drinking in Couple‐Based Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders

Hallgren

McCrady

2015

Family Process

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Couple-based treatments for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) produce higher rates of abstinence than individual-based treatments and posit that active involvement of both identified patients (IPs) and significant others (SOs) is partly responsible for these improvements. Separate research on couples’ communication has suggested that pronoun usage can indicate a communal approach to coping with health-related problems. The present study tested whether communal coping, indicated by use of more first-person plural pronouns (“we” language), fewer second-person pronouns (“you” language), and fewer first-person singular pronouns (“I” language), predicted improvements in abstinence in couple-based AUD treatment. Pronoun use was measured in first- and mid-treatment sessions for 188 heterosexual couples in four clinical trials of alcohol behavioral couple therapy (ABCT). Percentages of days abstinent were assessed during treatment and over a six-month follow-up period. Greater IP and SO “we” language during both sessions was correlated with greater improvement in abstinent days during treatment. Greater SO “we” language during first- and mid-treatment sessions was correlated with greater improvement in abstinence at follow-up. Greater use of IP and SO “you” and “I” language had mixed correlations with abstinence, typically being unrelated to or predicting less improvement in abstinence. When all pronoun variables were entered into regression models, only greater IP “we” langue and lower IP “you” language predicted improvements in abstinence during treatment, and only SO “we” language predicted improvements during follow-up. Most pronoun categories had little or no association with baseline relationship distress. Results suggest that communal coping predicts better abstinence outcomes in couple-based AUD treatment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

We‐Language and Sustained Reductions in Drinking in Couple‐Based Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders

Hallgren

McCrady

2015

Family Process

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“…Similarly, women's use of Italk in instant messages was positively related to their own satisfaction, their partners' satisfaction, and relationship stability (Slatcher, Vazire, & Pennebaker, 2008). Finally, I-talk by patients in couples coping with health problems was associated with the withdraw role-or a push for autonomy-in demand-withdraw interactions (Rentscher, Rohrbaugh, Shoham, & Mehl, 2013).…”

Section: I-talk As An Indicator Of Relational Autonomymentioning

confidence: 96%

“We” Overeat, But “I” Can Stay Thin: Pronoun Use and Body Weight in Couples Who Eat to Regulate Emotion

Skoyen¹,

Randall²,

Mehl³

et al. 2014

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

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The rates of overweight and obesity in the u.S. suggest that most people have difficulty maintaining a healthy diet. Both individual factors (e.g., emotions, preferences) and social forces (e.g., partner influence) play a role in shaping eating habits, and individual factors might be differentially associated with eating depending on social conditions. The present study focuses on eating to regulate emotion (ErE) and the language used by romantic partners when discussing their health habits as interactive predictors of their body mass indices (Bmi). Forty-three committed couples reported on the use of ErE and discussed their health habits with their partners during a laboratory visit. we tested whether ErE was associated with Bmi under specific relationship conditions. as predicted, higher ErE was associated with higher Bmi, especially for women who used more we-talk, a marker of relational cohesion, in couples with both partners having high ErE. However, women who used high i-talk in such couples had lower Bmi. These findings suggest that for women sharing high ErE with their partner, using we-talk when discussing health habits might exacerbate the impact of this habit on Bmi, whereas i-talk, a marker of relational autonomy, may serve a protective function.

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“…When the topic of discussion was one partner's health condition, greater spouse I ‐talk during a coping interview predicted an improvement in general health functioning for congestive heart failure patients. Greater I ‐talk by the patient relative to the spouse during a health‐related disagreement, however, was associated with problematic demand–withdraw interaction patterns, suggesting patient defensiveness or resistance to requests for behavior change (Rentscher, Rohrbaugh, Shoham, & Mehl, ). For example, these spouse‐demand/patient‐withdraw patterns have been associated with low readiness to change and decreased retention in treatment among individuals with alcohol use disorders (Rohrbaugh & Shoham, ; Shoham, Rohrbaugh, Stickle, & Jacob, ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Partner Pronoun Use, Communal Coping, and Abstinence during Couple‐Focused Intervention for Problematic Alcohol Use

et al. 2015

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Communal coping-a process in which romantic partners view a problem as ours rather than yours or mine, and take collaborative action to address it -has emerged as an important predictor of health and treatment outcomes. In a study of partners' pronoun use prior to and during couple-focused alcohol interventions, we examined first-person plural (we-talk) and singular (I-talk) pronouns as linguistic markers of communal coping and behavioral predictors of treatment outcome. Thirty-three couples in which one partner abused alcohol were selected from a randomized control trial (N = 63) of couple-focused Cognitive-Behavioral or Family Systems Therapy if they had unambiguously successful or unsuccessful treatment outcomes (i.e., patient maintained abstinence for 30 days prior to treatment termination or had more than one heavy drinking day in the same period). Pronoun measures for each partner were obtained via computerized text analysis from transcripts of partners' speech, derived from a videotaped pretreatment interaction task and three subsequent therapy sessions. Spouse we-talk during the intervention (accounting for pretreatment we-talk), as an index of communal orientation, uniquely predicted successful treatment outcomes. In contrast, both patient and spouse I-talk during the intervention (accounting for pretreatment I-talk), as a marker of individualistic orientation, uniquely predicted unsuccessful outcomes, especially when distinguishing active and passive (I vs. me/my) pronoun forms. Results strengthen evidence for the prognostic significance of spouse behavior for patient health outcomes and for communal coping (indexed via pronoun use) as a potential mechanism of change in couple-focused interventions for health problems.

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Asymmetric partner pronoun use and demand–withdraw interaction in couples coping with health problems.

Cited by 33 publications

References 47 publications

We‐Language and Sustained Reductions in Drinking in Couple‐Based Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders

We‐Language and Sustained Reductions in Drinking in Couple‐Based Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders

“We” Overeat, But “I” Can Stay Thin: Pronoun Use and Body Weight in Couples Who Eat to Regulate Emotion

Partner Pronoun Use, Communal Coping, and Abstinence during Couple‐Focused Intervention for Problematic Alcohol Use

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