OBSERVED PATTERNS OF CONFLICT IN VIOLENT, NONVIOLENT, AND NONDISTRESSED COUPLES

The objective of this exploratory study was to identify characteristic patterns of behavior in physically aggressive (n = 20), verbally aggressive (n = 19), withdrawing (n = 21), and nondistressed/low conflict (n = 19) married couples as they engaged in conflictual discussions. Videotapes were coded using a system designed to assess a number of positive, negative, and neutral interactional verbal behaviors. In addition to frequency data, sequential analysis was used to answer questions about how spouses influence each other's behaviors. Based on the frequency analyses alone, it would appear that there are significant differences between conflictual and nondistressed spouses but not among the three conflictual groups. The sequential data, however, demonstrate that physically aggressive couples, when compared with the verbally aggressive and withdrawing couples, display interaction patterns that specifically increase the probability of further verbal aggression. The interaction patterns of the nondistressed couples are characterized by the absence of negative cycles of behavior.