Content area
Full Text
Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Vol. 23, No. 3, Fall 2005 ( 2005)DOI: 10.1007/s10942-005-0013-yDYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPBELIEFS IN MARITAL CONFLICTZeynep HamamciUniversity of GaziantepABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between dysfunctional relationship beliefs and marital conflict of nonclinical
married individuals. Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions Scale and Married
Life Questionnaire were completed by a sample consisting of 182 married men
and women. As hypothesized before, dysfunctional relationship beliefs correlated positively with the number and frequency of marital conflicts and the
level of tension felt related to such conflicts. Dysfunctional relationship beliefs
indicated the highest correlations with the frequency of marital conflicts. The
beliefs related to mind reading were negatively associated with marital conflicts of women. When individuals endorsed high dysfunctional beliefs, they
experienced more conflict in their marital relationship and felt more stressful.
In addition, individuals experiencing conflict on 10 out of 30 issues had high
level of dysfunctional beliefs. In conclusion, the results of this study have
demonstrated the negative consequences of dysfunctional beliefs on marital
conflict.KEY WORDS: marital conflict; dysfunctional beliefs.Marital conflict is defined as a process of interaction in which one
or both partners feel discomfort about some aspect of their relationship and try to resolve it in some manner (Montgomery, 1989). By
the early 1980s, attempts were made to explain marital conflicts in
terms of behavioral aspect. Then, researchers began to pay attention
to subjective factors such as thoughts, beliefs and attributions
(Ficham, 2003). Many studies based on the cognitive behavioral
approach emphasize the role of cognitive components such as irrationalAddress correspondence to Zeynep Hamamci, University of Gaziantep, Faculty of Education,
Department of Guidance and Counseling, Gaziantep, Turkey; e-mail: zeynephamamci@hotmail.
com245 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.246 Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapybeliefs (Addis & Bernard, 2002; Ellis, 1986; Ellis, 2003), dysfunctional
beliefs (Eildeson & Epstein, 1982; Epstein & Eidelson, 1981; Epstein,
Baucom, & Rankin, 1993; Kayser & Himle, 1994), cognitive distortion
(Beck, 1988) and attribution (Bradbury & Fincham, 1990; Fletcher &
Fincham, 1990) in marital distress.Ellis was among the first to emphasize the role of cognitive factors
in distressed marital relationships in the field. Building his works,
rational emotive behavior theory proposed that the cause of disturbed
marital interactions is unrealistic expectations that spouses hold not
merely about themselves and...