Negativity in marital communication: Where's the beef?

Two current lines of research findings converge on the question of whether negative communication in marital interaction is functionally negative. Recent studies have focused on predicting changes in marital satisfaction after some period of time. The associations between negativity and marital satisfaction at Time 1 (cross-sectional correlates) appear to differ from those observed at Time 2 (longitudinal correlates). Based on continuing work with sequential analyses of marital interactions, negative behaviors may produce unexpected contingent spouse behaviors. This miniseries examines these issues by addressing the larger question: Is negative marital communication a misnomer? Contributors address methodological and substantive issues that may suggest the broad outlines of a theory of constructive conflict.