. Marital Conflict Most studies of marital conflict focus on three particular dimensions of communication. The first dimension is affect, which refers to messages that express positive or negative feelings toward another person, such as support, hostility, confirmation, coercion, sarcasm, or positive positivity. or overall negativity (e.g., Gottman, 1979 and Sillars and Wilmot, 1994). The second dimension to characterize conflict behaviors is whether they are constructive or destructive for the relationship between the parties. Research from the United States indicates that ending the relationship and neglecting the partner are destructive responses to problem solving and are more strongly predictive of couple distress than giving voice to problems and being loyal and passive (e.g., Rusbult, Johnson, & Morrow, 1986). . The third dimension to characterize conflict management is engagement versus avoidance (e.g., Hocker & Wilmot, 1991 and Sillars & Wilmot, 1994). Engagement is reflected in direct and open verbal confrontation of conflict issues, while conflict avoidance is reflected in withdrawal and aversion to directly addressing conflict issues (Canary, Cupach, & Messman , 1995) and includes circumscribed, irrelevant or ambiguous communication. Since the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of culture on marital conflict strategies and marital satisfaction, the discussion will be limited to the third dimension of marital conflict, engagement-avoidance, as well as styles of Rahim conflict.ReferencesBaucom, DH, Shoham, V., Mueser, KT, Daiuto, AD and Stickle, TR (1998). Empirically supported interventions with couples and families for marital distress and adult mental health problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psycholog...... middle of article ...... void in marital interaction: A longitudinal view of five types of couples. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology. 61(1). 6-15. 4. Jacobson, N. and Addis, M. (1993). Couples Research and Couples Therapy: What Do We Know? Where are we going? Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology. 61. 85-93.5. Noller, P. and Fitzpatrick, M.A. (1991). Communication Markal. In A. Booth (Ed.), Contemporary Families: Looking Forward, Looking Back, (pp. 42-53). Minneapohs, MN: National Council on Family Relations. Marriage and Conflict Marital satisfaction and other related contacts (e.g., marital adjustment, marital quality, and marital happiness) are widely studied by family researchers. However, there is no consensus regarding their definition and measurement. Some scholars have argued that these constructions are not synonymous (e.g., Heyman, Sayers, and Bellack)., 1994;