Although a clear relationship between marital satisfaction and marital communication has been established (for a review, see Noller & Fitzpatrick, 1990), little is known about the development of communication problems in marriage. In this chapter, we explore the development of couples' communication problems from the premarital stage through the first two years of marriage. We address three issues of theoretical and practical significance. First, what affects the stability of communication patterns and to what extent are problematic patterns of communication present before marriage? Second, to what extent are specific communication patterns related to concurrent and later satisfaction; in other words, are the communication patterns that are constructive in the short term also constructive in the long term? Third, in what direction does the link between communication and relationship satisfaction move; that is, do communication patterns drive relationship satisfaction, or does relationship satisfaction drive communication patterns? We address these issues in relation to three aspects of communication: responses to conflict, nonverbal accuracy, and conversational patterns.

Communication Problems and Relationship Satisfaction in Early Marriage

Development of Communication Problems

An important theoretical issue is whether the destructive communication patterns that lead to marital dissatisfaction are present premaritally, or whether such patterns develop over the course of marriage.