The role of cognition, affect, and behavior in marital adjustment: A marital intervention outcome study of two versions of the mutual problem solving program.

Abstract

Based upon the thesis that human functioning consists of affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes which operate interdependently, targeting all three areas should be more effective than targeting only one or two areas of functioning. The present study compared the Mutual Problem Solving Program, a marital therapy intervention with affective and behavioral components (MPS-AB), an MPS program with added cognitive components (MPS-CAB), and a wait-list control (WLC) condition. Forty-nine couples participated. Both treatments involved eight sessions. Assessment utilizing self-report questionnaires and observational measures was done at pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up. MPS-AB and MPS-CAB couples exhibited better dyadic adjustment (p =.006) than the WLC couples. MPS-AB was just as effective as MPS-CAB at improving irrational beliefs. The percentage of subjects who experienced statistically reliable improvement in dyadic adjustment from pre-test to post-test was 34.4, 35.3, and 9.4, for the MPS-AB, MPS-CAB, and WLC groups respectively, while for deterioration the percentages were 18.8, 11.8, and 37.5. Emotion was the best predictor of dyadic adjustment.