Spouses’ demand and withdrawal during marital conflict and their well-being

This study investigated the link between spouses’ demanding and withdrawing behavior during conflict and their subjective well-being (SWB) in a community sample of 126 couples. Demand and withdrawal were analyzed in combination in the demand/withdraw pattern, as well as individually. Results showed that the model with the individual conflict behavior provided a better representation of the data than the demand/withdraw pattern model.Women’s as well as men’s demand were directly associated with men’s SWB. Furthermore, the individual conflict behavior was indirectly linked with both spouses’ SWB via their own marital satisfaction. Results highlight the potential importance of couple’s conflict behavior for spouses’ SWB.