Verbal Avoidance and Dissatisfaction in Intimate Conflict Situations

The purpose of this study was to more closely examine the association between avoidance and satisfaction during a potentially conflict-inducing conversation with one's dating partner. The results suggest that the way people respond to their own and their partner's conflict avoidance depends upon whether they are male or female. The perception of one's partner's avoidance and one's own avoidance were only dissatisfying for women. Moreover, although the chilling effect (M. E. Roloff & D. H. Cloven, 1990) was present for both men and women, it only affected women's relationship satisfaction. The results also revealed that the association between conflict avoidance and dissatisfaction was bidirectional for women. For both men and women, the more dissatisfied they were entering into the conversation, the more they avoided during it. Women's avoidance, however, also negatively influenced their relationship satisfaction. Finally, the strength of the associations suggests that satisfaction may have a slightly stronger impact on avoidance than avoidance has on satisfaction.