Do Conflict Recovery Behaviors Buffer the Impact of Conflict Behavior on Marital Satisfaction?

Abstract

The purpose of this present study was to expand on the limited research that has been conducted on conflict recovery and investigate whether conflict recovery has the ability to moderate the impact of conflict behaviors on the level of marital satisfaction. To achieve this goal 71 couples completed self-report questionnaires assessing conflict behaviors and marital satisfaction, and were interviewed about their conflict recovery behaviors. A series of hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. For men, make-up sex following an argument buffered the impact of conflict on marital satisfaction. For women, a calm follow-up discussion and offering a general apology to one’s partner each moderated the influence of conflict behavior on marital satisfaction. Possible implications are discussed.