Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-lvtdw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-15T23:46:52.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Behavioural Marital Therapy — Setting an Agenda for the 1990s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Neville M. Blampied
Neville M. Blampied*
Affiliation:
University of Canterbury, Christchurch NZ
*
Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ
Get access

Abstract

The strength of behavioural marital therapy is seen to lie in its close links between theory, assessment and therapy. Issues raised by contributions to this special issue are reviewed as they bear on each of these domains and the implications they have for the next decade of research and practice are discussed. Some problems with the prevailing cognitive-behavioural models of marital functioning are noted, the difficulties of establishing effective clinical use of research innovations in assessment are lamented, and the need for innovation in therapy to meet the demands of diverse client groups is considered. An appeal is made for more attention to be given to maintenance and transfer (generalisation) issues. Finally, it is suggested that the decade of the 1990s become the decade of prevention research.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 6 , Issue 3-4 , September 1989 , pp. 187 - 196
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abbott, M. W. & Durie, M. H. (1987). A whiter shade of pale: Taha Maori and professional psychology training. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 16, 58–71.Google Scholar
Atkinson, B. J. & McKenzie, P. N. (1984). The personalized Spouse Observation Checklist: A computer-generated assessment of marital interaction. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 10, 427–429.Google Scholar
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M. & Risley, T. R. (1987). Some still-current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 313–327.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). From thought to action: Mechanisms of personal agency. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 15, 1–17.Google Scholar
Barlow, D. H., Haynes, S. C. & Nelson, R. O. (1984). The scientist practitioner. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Baucom, D. H. & Hoffman, J. A. (1986). The effectiveness of marital therapy: Current status and application to the clinical setting. In Jacobson, N. S. & Gurman, A. S. (Eds.), Clinical handbook of marital therapy (pp. 597–620). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Bednar, R. L., Burlingame, G. M. & Masters, K. S. (1988). Systems of family treatment: Substance or semantics? Annual Review of Psychology, 39, 401–434.Google Scholar
Blampied, N. M., Church, R. J. & Haye, L. (1983). The Canterbury relationship enrichment and social skills training project. Final Report. Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury: Christchurch, NZ.Google Scholar
Bornstein, P. H. & Bornstein, M. T. (1986). Marital therapy: A behavioral communications approach. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Bornstein, P. H., Bach, P. J., Heider, J. F. & Ernst, J. (1981). Clinical treatment of marital dysfunction: A multiple-baseline analysis. Behavioral Assessment, 3, 335–343.Google Scholar
Bornstein, P. H. & Rychtarik, R. G. (1983). Consumer satisfaction in adult behavior therapy: Procedures, problems and future perspectives. Behavior Therapy, 14, 191–208.Google Scholar
Brody, G. H., Neubaum, E. & Forehand, R. (1988). Serial marriage: A heuristic analysis of an emerging family form. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 211–222.Google Scholar
Broderick, J. E. & O'Leary, K. D. (1986). Contributions of affect, attitudes and behavior to marital satisfaction. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 54, 514–517.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cain, B. S. (1988). Divorce among elderly women: A growing social phenomenon. Social Casework: the Journal of Contemporary Social Work, 69, 563–568.Google Scholar
Coyne, J. C. & Gotlib, I. (1986). Studying the role of cognition in depression: Well-trodden paths and cul-de-sacs. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 10, 695–705.Google Scholar
Epstein, N. (1982). Cognitive therapy with couples. American Journal of Family Therapy, 10, 5–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falloon, I. R. H. & Lillie, F. J. (1988). Behavioral family therapy: An overview. In Falloon, I. R. H. (Ed.). Handbook of Behavioral Family Therapy (pp. 3–26). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J. & Dimond, M. E. (1985). A survival analysis of childhood family history. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 47, 287–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J. & Shannon, F. T. (1984). A proportional hazards model of family breakdown. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 46, 539–549.Google Scholar
Fincham, F. D. & Bradbury, T. N. (in press). Social cognition: Implications for behavioral assessment and behavior therapy. In Martin, P. (Ed.), Handbook of behavior therapy and psychological science: An integrative approach. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Fitness, J. & Fletcher, G. J. O. (1988). Emotions in the context of dating relationships. Paper presented at the 24th International Congress of Psychology, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Fletcher, G. J. O., Fitness, J. & Blampied, N. M. (in press). The link between attributions and happiness in close relationships. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology.Google Scholar
Floyd, F. J. & Markman, H. J. (1983). Observational biases in spouse observation: Toward a cognitive/behavioral model of marriage. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 51, 450–457.Google Scholar
Folingstad, D. R., Neckerman, A. P. & Vorm-brock, J. (1988). Reactions to victimization and coping strategies of battered women: The ties that bind. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 373–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Follette, W. C. & Jacobson, N. S. (1988). Behavioral marital therapy in the treatment of depressive disorders. In Falloon, I. R. H. (Ed.), Handbook of Behavioral Family Therapy (pp. 257–284). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Forsterling, F. (1986). Attributional conceptions in clinical psychology. American Psychologist, 41, 275–285.Google Scholar
Geiss, S. K. & O'Leary, K. D. (1981). Therapist ratings of frequency and severity of marital problems: Implications for research. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 7, 515–520.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottman, J. M. & Levinson, R. W. (1985). A valid procedure for obtaining self-report of affect in marital interaction. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 53, 151–160.Google Scholar
Hahlweg, K., Baucom, D. H. & Markman, H. (1988). Recent advances in therapy and prevention. In Falloon, I. R. H. (Ed.), Handbook of Behavioral Family Therapy, (pp. 413–448). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Hahlweg, K. & Markman, H. J. (1988). Effectiveness of behavioral marital therapy: Empirical status of behavioral techniques in preventing and alleviating marital distress. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 56, 440–447.Google Scholar
Hahlweg, K., Revenstorf, D. & Schindler, L. (1982). Treatment of marital distress: Comparing formats and modalities. Advances in Behaviour Research & Therapy, 4, 57–74.Google Scholar
Haye, L. (1983). Marital distress: Its roots, treatment and prevention from a behavioral perspective. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.Google Scholar
Jacobson, N. S. (1983). Expanding the range and applicability of behavioral marital therapy. The Behavior Therapist, 6, 189–191.Google Scholar
Jacobson, N. S., Follette, W. C. & Elwood, R. W. (1984). Outcome research on behavioral marital therapy: A methodological and conceptual reappraisal. In Hahlweg, K. & Jacobson, N. S. (Eds.), Marital interaction: Analysis and modification, (pp. 115–132). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Jacobson, N. S. (1979). Increasing positive behavior in severely distressed marital relationships: The effects of problem solving training. Behavior Therapy, 10, 331–326.Google Scholar
Jacobson, N. S. & Margolin, G. (1979). Marital therapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Johnston, J. M. (1979). On the relationship between generalization and generality. The Behavior Analyst, 2, 1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, E. E. (1986). Interpreting interpersonal behavior: The effects of expectancies. Science, 234, 41–46.Google Scholar
Kadzin, A. E. (1980). Acceptability of alternative treatments for deviant child behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 259–273.Google Scholar
Ledwidge, B. (1978). Cognitive behavior modification: A step in the wrong direction? Psychological Bulletin, 85, 353–375.Google Scholar
Lee, V. L. (1988). The language of action: A review of Schafer's A new language for psychoanalysis. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 49, 429–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liberman, R. P., Wheeler, E. C., de Visser, L., Kuehnell, J. & Kuehnell, T. (1980). Handbook of marital therapy: A positive approach to helping troubled relationships. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Margolin, G. (1983). Behavioral marital therapy: Is there a place for passion, play and other non-negotiable dimensions? The Behavior Therapist, 6, 65–68.Google Scholar
Margolin, G., Talovic, S & Weinstein, C. D. (1983). Areas of Change Questionnaire: A practical approach to marital assessment. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 51, 920–931.Google Scholar
Markman, H. J., Floyd, F. & Dickson-Markman, F. (1982). Towards a model for the prediction and primary prevention of marital and family distress and dissolution. In Duck, S. (Ed.), Personal relationships 4: Dissolving personal relationships (pp. 223–261). London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Mehlman, S. K., Baucom, D. H. & Anderson, D. (1983). Effectiveness of cotherapists versus single therapists and immediate versus delayed treatment in behavioural marital therapy. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 1983, 51, 258–266.Google Scholar
Miller, R. C. & Berman, J. S. (1983). The efficacy of cognitive behavior therapies: A quantitative review of the research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 39–53.Google Scholar
Parloff, M. B. (1961). The family in psychotherapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 445–451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patterson, G. R. (1986). Performance models for antisocial boys. American Psychologist, 41, 432–444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rottschaefer, W. A. (1983). Operant learning and the scientific and philosophical foundations of behavior therapy. Behaviorism, 11, 155–161.Google Scholar
Robinson, E. A. & Price, M. G. (1980). Pleasurable behavior in marital interaction: An observational study. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 48, 117–118.Google Scholar
Schneider, S. M. & Morris, E. K. (1987). A history of the term Radical behaviorism from Watson to Skinner. The Behavior Analyst, 10, 27–39.Google Scholar
Segal, Z. V. (1988). Appraisal of the self-schema construct in cognitive models of depression. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 147–162.Google Scholar
Seligman, M. E. P., Abramson, L. Y., Semmel, A. M. & von Bayer, C. (1979). Depressive attributional style. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 242–243.Google Scholar
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Skinner, B. F. (1989). The origins of cognitive thought. American Psychologist, 44, 13–18.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Bulletin, 93, 119–135.Google Scholar
Stokes, T. F. & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367.Google Scholar
Strube, M. J. (1988). The decision to leave an abusive relationship: Empirical evidence and theoretical issues. Psychological Bulletin, 104, 236–250.Google Scholar
Stuart, R. B. (1969). Operant interpersonal treatment for marital discord. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 33, 675–682.Google Scholar
Stuart, R. B. (1980). Helping couples change: A social learning approach to marital therapy. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Williams, J. M. G. (1987). Cognitive treatment of depression. In Eysenck, H. J. & Martin, I. (Eds), Theoretical foundations of behavior therapy, (pp. 257–275). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Wolf, M. M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203–214.Google Scholar
Wolpe, J. (1976). Behavior therapy and its malcontents. II. Multimodal eclecticism, cognitive exclusivism and ‘exposure’ empiricism. Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 7, 109–116.Google Scholar
Zettle, R. D. & Hayes, S. C. (1982). Rule-governed behavior: A potential theoretical framework for cognitive behavioral therapy. In Kendall, P. C. (Ed.), Advances in cognitive-behavioral research and therapy, Vol 1 (pp. 73–118). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar