ABSTRACT

Couple conflict has emerged as a central focus of research among family scholars—and for good reasons. As Bradbury, Rogge, and Lawrence (chap. 5, this volume) observed, strategies for dealing with conflict are at the heart of many theories of marriage, whereas conflict resolution is an important goal of most interventions aimed at improving marriages. Research findings substantiate couple conflict as an important factor for family outcomes. It is negatively associated with marital quality (Bradbury et al., chap. 5; Cummings, Goeke-Morey, & Papp, chap. 9; Johnson, chap. 7, this volume), personal well-being (Beach, chap. 6; Cordova, chap. 8; Johnson, chap. 7; Wilson & Daly, chap. 1, this volume), and child adjustment (Buchanan, Louca, & Waizenhofer, chap. 10; Conger, chap. 11; Cummings et al., chap. 9; Sanders, chap. 13, this volume). These associations suggest that couple conflict is a powerful source of emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and physiological problems for both individuals and their offspring (Cummings et al., chap. 9, this volume). Therefore, identifying the sources and risk factors that mark couple conflict may help direct interventions and contribute to improving personal well-being, child adjustment, and the quality of marriages.