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Impulsivity, communication, and marital satisfaction in newlywed couples

The authors used a vulnerability–stress–adaptation framework to examine how and why impulsivity affects communication and marital satisfaction in a sample of 100 newlywed couples. We specifically examined the links between impulsivity and perceptions of conflict communication patterns and their associations with marital satisfaction. Using an actor–partner interdependence framework, the results demonstrated that impulsivity was negatively associated with one’s own and partner’s marital satisfaction. Impulsivity was also negatively associated with constructive communication and positively associated with destructive communication. Furthermore, mediation analyses showed that communication patterns mediated the impulsivity–satisfaction link. Taken together, these findings suggest that impulsivity is likely to lead to lower marital satisfaction, partly through its effect on communication between partners. Adaptive relationship processes, such as interpersonal interactions between couple members, can have a significant impact on relationship satisfaction and stability (Gottman & Krokoff, 1989). Indeed, communication plays an important role in determining satisfaction in marriage as well as close relationships (Fletcher, 2002). The ways in which an individual communicates with his or her relationship partner is important in setting the overall tone of the relationship and gives rise to predictable patterns of behavior, especially when it concerns attempts to solve and deal with everyday problems and conflict (Christensen & Shenk, 1991). In the current research, we focus on communication as an important process with the potential for affecting marital relationship satisfaction. Given Kenneth Tan, School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University; Amber M. Jarnecke, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University; Susan C. South, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University. Correspondence should be addressed to Kenneth Tan, Singapore Management University, School of Social Sciences, 90 Stamford Road Level 4, Singapore 178903, Singapore, e-mail: kennethtanyy@smu.edu.sg. how personality traits influence the way individuals experience interpersonal relationships (e.g., Simpson, Winterheld, & Chen, 2006), we were also interested in examining how the dispositional factor of impulsivity is associated with different conflict communication patterns and consequently marital satisfaction. Because relationships are of a dyadic nature and examining the effects of both partners provides a more comprehensive view of relationship functioning, we further examine how a partner’s level of impulsivity can impact one’s own romantic relationship functioning. Vulnerability–stress–adaptation framework We utilized a vulnerability–stress–adaptation (VSA) framework in order to understand marital quality and functioning (Karney & Bradbury, 1995). This framework suggests that, first, individuals bring into their relationships pre-existing vulnerabilities. These relatively stable enduring vulnerabilities can take the form of personality traits (i.e., impulsivity in the present research) and/or past experiences (e.g., parental divorce). Next, relationships can also be impacted by external 423 Published in Personal Relationships, 2017 June, Volume 24, Issue 2, Pages 423-439 http://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12190