The relationship between communication skill and marital satisfaction: Some moderating effects

This article proposes that the relationship between communication skills and marital satisfaction is not simple and straightforward, but rather is quite complex, varying as a function of several moderating factors-skill type, marital distress, gender, and analytic unit (couple, self; or other). Participants (30 distressed couples and 30 nondistressed couples) completed tasks providing assessments of four communication skills and two aspects of marital satisfaction. Analyses revealed that the magnitude-and even the direction-of the associations varied as a function of the moderating variables. In particular skills and satisfaction were positively associated among nondistressed couples, but were negatively associated among distressed couples. The results are explored in terms of their implications for research on communication in marriage and the treatment of marital distress.