• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.101-114
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to develop a self-report scale measuring dysfunctional communication behaviors that Korean husbands and wives may use during marital fights. Based on the four concepts of criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling proposed by Gottman(1994a), an initial pool of 38 items was developed. Through expert reviews of the 38 items to assess content validity, preliminary 30 items were selected. Using a sample of 89 married couples who were living in Susan, Korea, we conducted item analyses and exploratory factor analyses with the 30 items. These analyses yielded a final 19-item, four-factor scale : criticism(5 items), contempt(5 items), defensiveness(5 items), and stonewalling(4 items). The internal consistency estimates for these subscales were satisfactory. Finally, using another sample of 228 wives, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis to confirm cross validity of the 19-item, four-factor model. The result indicated that this model fitted the data reasonably well. All standardized factor loadings were significant in this model. The results of this study supported reliability and validity of this scale.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.10
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• pp.83-96
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• 2008

Using a sample of 107 married couples, this study investigated the influence of self-reported argument-communication behaviors on marital satisfaction. The results were as follows. (a) Wives used more criticism, contempt, and self-assertion during marital arguments than husbands. There were no significant gender differences in the levels of defensiveness, stonewalling, and active listening. (b) Multilevel analyses indicated that marital satisfaction was predicted by the person's own level of self-assertion and stonewalling(i.e., actor effects) and by his or her spouse's level of stonewalling(i.e., partner effect). No other significant actor and partner effects were found. Also, there were no significant gender differences in the sizes of effects. (c) A cluster analysis of both spouses' communication behaviors during marital arguments identified four distinct groups of married couples. : mutual constructive, husband constructive-wife destructive, husband destructive-wife constructive, and mutual destructive. Mutual constructive couples reported the best marital satisfaction.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 2013

The current study examined the ability to predict Gottman's four dysfunctional communication behaviors during marital arguments based on the level of surface and core problems in marriage. Core problems were composed of three factors: caring, power, and commitment problems. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 182 married women residing in Busan. The results of multiple regression analyses revealed that a woman's degree of criticism was predicted by surface and caring problems when controlling for the other variables. The degree of contempt was predicted by a commitment problem as well as surface and caring problems. Defensiveness was determined only by a commitment problem, while stonewalling was determined only by a power problem. Overall, these results showed the importance of core problems in understanding the causes of the four dysfunctional communication behaviors - especially contempt - and suggested that additional attention should be given to a commitment problem as a contributor to the expression of contempt and defensiveness.