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Locke & Wallace’s Purpose – Provide reliable & valid adjustment testing – Combined most significant items of marital adjustment testing – Combined items reduced size and time Marital Adjustment Benchmark – Accommodation of partners to each other at a given time – Considered the benchmark for assessing the degree of adjustment in Marriage – Used for marital & cohabitating couples

Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test Developed: 1959 Locke & Wallace to provide quicker, valid marital adjustment testing Statistical Properties: --Reliability:.90 -Validity:.63 --Norms: 118 husbands and wives, high SES, one or less children Administration: (English only) --Self-report, paper pencil only --Married or cohabitating couples --5 minutes to complete Scoring: (Gottman Appendix) --Can be scored in 5 minutes or less --15 items points range from suggest mutual adjustment Systemic Integration: --Gottman, EFT, Solution-Focused --Offers quick look at communication, conflict, and cohesion

Whitton & Markman, 2004 – LWMA used to test for marital/cohabitation satisfaction – Hypothesis: Cohabitate before marriage = less marital satisfaction – Cohabitation prior to marriage doesn’t equal lower satisfaction for women – Cohabitation prior to marriage = satisfaction for men – Those cohabitating prior to marriage reported less marital satisfaction that those that did not cohabitate prior

Wilson & Cousins, 2003 – Used LWMA as a standard to compare compatibility between established couples who share several commonalities VS. randomly selected couples (who may not have similarities) – Compatibility Quotient – Mean age was 51 for men and 47 for women – Mean length of relationship was 17 years – More similarities = more satisfied through the years – Can be used to help fight unreal expectations

This tool assess relational adjustment, conflict issues, and cohesion Gives an insiders view of the couple By looking at what is working, there is a chance to build upon positive aspects, giving hope (Solution-Focused) Can address gaps in communication that may be hindering satisfaction, adjustment, and happiness

Use this tool to get an ‘insider’s view’ Offers a quick testing tool that is valid and reliable Easy to score Great tool to use with cohabitating couples Can be used with Solution-Focused, EFT, and /or Gottman Models of Therapy (BTW Gottman loves it!!!)

street-what-is-marriage

Millard J. Bienvenu’s Purpose – Disruptions in communication are universal in unhappy marriages. – Good communication can be learned and improved upon throughout the life of a marriage. – MCI was created to measure dimensions of communication where clinicians could intervene. This is filler – Point a – Point b – Point c

Marital Communication Inventory Marital Disaffection Scale Developed: --Communication Process --Designed for any age, education, SES couples in NW Louisana Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test Developed: 1959 Locke & Wallace to provide quicker, valid marital adjustment testing Statistical Properties: --Reliability:.90 -Validity:.63 --Norms: 118 husbands and wives, high SES, one or less children Administration: (English only) --Self-report, paper pencil only --Married or cohabitating couples --5 minutes to complete Scoring: (Gottman Appendix) --Can be scored in 5 minutes or less --15 items points range from suggest mutual adjustment Systemic Integration: --Gottman, EFT, Solution-Focused --Offers quick look at communication, conflict, and cohesion --Insiders view of the marriage Statistical Properties: -Internal Consistency: mo. -Norms: 1/6 120 Administration: -Different forms for male and female. -30 mins to complete 7 th grade level -Clinicians and couples can administer Scoring: -Responses scored at 0-3 points -Scores combined for total; Higher scores=Healtiher process Systemic Integration: -Measuring elements of process areas -Use with Gottman or EFT -MCI, Process, and Enactments

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Developed and found in her book When Love Dies: The Process of Marital Disaffection Disaffection: gradual loss of positive emotions that occurs b/t spouses over time Theoretical model developed from work of Snyder & Regts (1982) and Duck (1982) Sample size, etc. – Random sample of 354 spouses – Mean age 32; mean length of marriage 8.1 years – Primarily middle class, white Measures 21 items including: caring, attachment, desire for emotional intimacy with one’s partner

Marital Communication Inventory Marital Disaffection Scale Developed: --Communication Process --Designed for any age, education, SES couples in NW Louisiana Developed: 1993 Karen Kayser (based on research by Snyder & Regts (1982) & Duck (1982). Measures loss of positive emotions towards one’s spouse Statistical Properties: --Internal Consistency:.93 --Unideminsional scale --Criterion related Validity (Kayser, 1996) Administration: --Self-report --3 to 5 minutes to complete --Paper version only Scoring: --21 items --Scores range from 21 – 84 --Scored in 3 – 5 minutes Systemic Integration: --EFT, Gottman --Work toward restoring emotional aspects of relationship Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test Developed: 1959 Locke & Wallace to provide quicker, valid marital adjustment testing Statistical Properties: --Reliability:.90 -Validity:.63 --Norms: 118 husbands and wives, high SES, one or less children Administration: (English only) --Self-report, paper pencil only --Married or cohabitating couples --5 minutes to complete Scoring: (Gottman Appendix) --Can be scored in 5 minutes or less --15 items points range from suggest mutual adjustment Systemic Integration: --Gottman, EFT, Solution-Focused --Offers quick look at communication, conflict, and cohesion --Insiders view of the marriage Systemic Integration: -Measuring elements of process areas -Use with Gottman or EFT -MCI, Process, and Enactments Scoring: -Responses scored at 0-3 points -Scores combined for total; Higher scores=Healthier process Administration: -Different forms for male and female. -30 mins. to complete 7 th grade level -Clinicians and couples can administer Statistical Properties: -Internal Consistency: mo. -Norms: 1/6 120

When highly disaffected couples enter therapy, they are seeking assistance in making a decision about ending the marriage Frustration can occur when one spouse is more disaffected than the other Marital Disaffection Scale is a quick and accurate way a therapist can get a feel for the emotional state of each spouse. Knowing the emotional state of each spouse can assist therapists in the development and implementation of a treatment plan.

Workaholic marriages vs. Nonworkaholics Spouses of workaholics feel: ignored, neglected, unappreciated, and believe they carry emotional burden for the family (similar to alcoholic families) Rated emotoinal closeness toward workaholic spouse Circular Causality found

EFT and Gottman Modles are good choices in working with this assessment Education about Circular Causality See inside the emotional interactions of the couple

Caution in feedback sessions Taking ownership of disaffection Therapeutic empathy and support is crucial