Implications of Conflict Behaviors for Divorce It is critical to examine marriages among diverse groups of people, as the meaning of conflict behaviors and their implications may vary by gender and race ( Orbuch et al., 2002). Lastly, we examined whether the implications of conflict behaviors for divorce and conflict behavior trajectories vary by gender and race. This will allow for an unprecedented longitudinal investigation regarding whether couples in long-term marriages become better able to manage conflict over time. Second, we assessed whether conflict behaviors present in the early years of marriage are consistent or change over time among couples who stay together. This will provide vital information on whether conflict behaviors, other than the often studied destructive behaviors, are influential for divorce over time. First, we considered whether self-reported conflict behaviors used in the first year of marriage predict how long couples remain married over 16 years. This study specifically examined self-reported destructive, constructive, and withdrawal behaviors among newlywed White and Black American couples in their first year of marriage (1986) and again in years 3, 7, and 16. In addition, little is known about whether these conflict behaviors remain stable or change over time among couples who stay married. Much less is understood about the implications of constructive (e.g., calm discussion, listening) and withdrawal behaviors (e.g., keeping quiet, leaving to cool down) for divorce. Indeed, destructive conflict behaviors (e.g., criticism, yelling) predicted increased divorce ( Gottman, Coan, Carrere, & Swanson 1998 Orbuch, Veroff, Hassan, & Horrocks, 2002). Behavioral theories of marriage have suggested that conflict behaviors have important implications for couples’ evaluations of their marriages and divorce ( Karney & Bradbury, 1995 Kelly, Fincham, & Beach, 2003). A large percentage of marriages end in divorce with estimates ranging from 40 to 50% ( Bramlett & Mosher, 2002 Rogers, 2004).
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