Assessment of Dysfunctional Interaction Patterns in Couples

Interaction patterns are repetitious communication sequences between members of a couple. When these patterns are dysfunctional, they are often the focus of clinical intervention. Yet pattern descriptions, while occurring frequently in the clinical literature, tend to be anecdotal and unsystematically studied. A questionnaire containing descriptions of 12 common interaction patterns was independently administered to both members of 55 undergraduate couples. Agreement on pattern occurrence between couples was low but significantly greater than chance. Three of the interaction patterns were signficantly related to standard measures of relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, evidence indicated the superiority of the pattern questionnaire over an alternate measurement instrument, an adjective checklist. The potential usefulness of this questionnaire in clinical assessment, intervention, and research is discussed.