Holley, Sarah R., Claudia M. Haase & Robert W. Levenson. 2013. Age-Related Changes in Demand-Withdraw Communication Behaviors. Journal of Marriage and Family 75: 822-836.
Demand-withdraw communication is a set of conflict-related behaviors in which one partner blames or pressures while the other partner withdraws or avoids. Demand behaviors consist of blame and pressure for change while withdraw behaviors are composed of withdrawal and avoidance. It has been considered one of the most common ways of communication for couples. The article aims to show how it changes over time among middle-aged and older long-term married couples by using a 13-year longitudinal data. Professional coders are recruited to objectively code behaviors of each couple. It is discovered that no age differences for any of the demand-withdraw behaviors at baseline for wives. No age group differences for blame or withdrawal behaviors at baseline husbands. Middle-aged husbands show higher levels of pressure and lower levels of avoidance, as compared to old husbands. The longitudinal findings showed a significant increase in avoidance behaviors over time; and all other behaviors showed a pattern of longitudinal stability over time.
“要求——退缩”式的沟通是一种常见的冲突行为，沟通的一方总是希望对方和自己讨论双方沟通之间发生的问题，并通过责备或者紧迫对方来实现，而另一方总是通过逃避讨论，退缩来达到目的。这种模式在西方被认为是婚姻内最常见的一种沟通模式。这篇文章选用历时13年的数据，分析中间夫妻或者结婚很长时间的老年夫妻在对待“要求——退缩”式的沟通上是否会随着年龄而发生变化。研究雇佣了专业的评估员在访谈时给夫妻处理冲突的能力打分，并且检测了同一对夫妻的不同评估员之间的一致性。研究发现，第一阶段时，丈夫和妻子在抱怨和回避两种行为上不存在明显差异。和老年丈夫相比，中年丈夫有更高的抱怨比率和较低的逃避概率。长期的数据分析还证明，随着年龄的增长，逃避式的行为模式逐渐增加，而其他各类沟通方式基本保持稳定。