Communication in Marriage Questionnaire - Conclusions from Marital Studies

Abstract

The studies examined the role of mutual support, commitment and depreciation of a partner for a husband’s and wife’s satisfaction with a relationship. Theory suggests that those three categories of marital interactions are crucial for the quality of relationships. Support, commitment and depreciation were assessed by the Communication in Marriage Questionnaire (KKM) created by M. Kaźmierczak and M. Plopa. 496 couples were recruited to the studies, which were conducted in a correlation paradigm. Satisfaction with marriage was assessed by Good Marriage Questionnaire (KDM-2) created by M. Plopa and J. Rostowski. Results indicated that support, commitment and aggressive behaviors have a significant, predictable and discriminable effect on satisfaction with marriage. Furthermore, “the diversified similarity rule” proposed by Rostowski was confirmed. In general, spouses perceive their own behaviors similarly as well as, in a similar way they assess behaviors of their partner, regardless of the level of their satisfaction. Still, it is the similarity connected with different, more or less adaptive patterns of behaviors. Communication in Marriage Questionnaire seems to be a reliable and valid method of analyzing interactions between spouses.