Marital Conflict Resolution and Marital Affection in Chinese Marriage: Integrating Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Approaches |
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Authors: | Xiaomin Li Nan Zhou |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona, Arizona, USA;2. Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, China |
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Abstract: | AbstractTo examine how couple interactions shape changes in marital affection during the early years of marriage, we used two-wave, dyadic data from 268 Chinese couples and integrated variable-centered (i.e., the actor-partner interdependence model; APIM) and person-centered analytic approaches (i.e., the latent profile analysis; LPA). Employing variable-centered analyses, we found that husbands’ stalemate and verbal aggression as well as wives’ collaboration and avoidance were particularly predictive of changes in marital affection. Using person-centered analyses, we found that (1) three groups of couples can be identified based on husbands’ and wives’ marital conflict resolution strategies (i.e., Collaborative Couples, Aggressive Wife-Defensive Husband Couples, and Defensive Couples); and (2) the changes of marital affection varied systematically across these groups. Variable-centered and person-centered approaches each generate unique insights above and beyond each other when considering marital phenomena. Integrating the two approaches can depict a more complete and nuanced picture of the association between marital conflict resolution and marital affection. |
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Keywords: | Chinese couple marital affection marital conflict resolution person-centered approach variable-centered approach |
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