Department of Psychology, University of Zurich.
Department of Psychology, University of California.
J Fam Psychol. 2018 Sep;32(6):762-772. doi: 10.1037/fam0000421. Epub 2018 Jun 4.
Although active, responsive listening is widely assumed to be essential for well-functioning intimate relationships, the manner in which this important behavior might promote closeness remains unknown. To test the prediction that listening may be especially influential when partners disclose experiences of stress, we instructed 365 heterosexual couples to hold two 8-min conversations in which each partner discussed a stressful personal experience while the other partner was asked to respond as he or she ordinarily would. We coded expressions of stress and listening behavior at 10-s intervals during these conversations, applied actor-partner multilevel models to compute a variable capturing the covariation between one partner's stress expression and the other partner's listening behavior, and then used that variable in regression analyses to predict observed dyadic coping behaviors, self-reports of the quality of dyadic coping in general, and self-reports of relationship satisfaction. Attentive listening while the other partner expressed stress was significantly linked with better dyadic coping behaviors and higher relationship satisfaction. Partners displaying less attentive listening during the partner's stress expression also engaged in more problem-oriented coping and more negative dyadic coping. Because attentive listening during disclosure of stress covaries in expected ways with support provision and judgments of relationship quality, appreciating the context-specific effects of active listening merits careful consideration as an intervention target in couple therapy and in relationship education programs. (PsycINFO Database Record
虽然主动、积极的倾听被广泛认为是功能良好的亲密关系的必要条件，但这种重要行为如何促进亲密关系仍然未知。为了检验倾听在伴侣披露压力体验时可能特别有影响力的预测，我们指示 365 对异性恋夫妇进行了两次 8 分钟的对话，在每次对话中，每个伴侣都讨论了一段压力个人经历，而另一个伴侣则被要求按照通常的方式做出回应。我们在这些对话中每隔 10 秒对压力表达和倾听行为进行编码，应用演员-伙伴多层次模型来计算一个变量，该变量捕捉一个伴侣的压力表达与另一个伴侣的倾听行为之间的共变关系，然后使用该变量进行回归分析，以预测观察到的双元应对行为、一般双元应对质量的自我报告以及关系满意度的自我报告。当另一个伴侣表达压力时，专注的倾听与更好的二元应对行为和更高的关系满意度显著相关。在伴侣表达压力时表现出不那么专注倾听的伴侣也会更多地采用问题导向的应对方式，以及更多的负面二元应对方式。由于在压力披露期间专注的倾听以预期的方式与支持提供和关系质量的判断共变，因此，认真考虑积极倾听的具体情境效果作为夫妻治疗和关系教育计划中的干预目标是值得的。
