| The study examined the potential influence of three categories of variables on changes in the frequency, saliency, and intensity of conflict in marriages and conflict strategies employed across the lifespan. Specifically, independent variables included marital factors (e.g., length of marriage, and presence of previous marriages), demographic variables (e.g., age of participant, age of marital partner, both partners' level of income, both partners' levels of education, and both partners' ethnicities), and family structure factors (e.g., number of children, number of children currently living in the home, number of grandchildren, frequency of verbal interactions with both partners' parents or stepparents). Dependent variables included the characteristics of the conflict itself (e.g., frequency, saliency, intensity) and communication strategies most commonly used by participants during conflict with their spouses. Data were collected via the internet from marital partners, regardless of age, recruited via students desiring extra credit in the basic communication class at the University of Arkansas. Results indicate that marital conflict is significantly affected by certain lifespan, familial, marital, and demographic variables including partners' ages, length of marriage, presence of previous marriages, number of grandchildren, and partners' levels of education. |
