The CouPLES Study

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The CouPLES Study

The Communication, Perception, Life Events, and Stress Study or CouPLES Study is designed to further our understanding of the role of communication behaviors and early-stage social information processing in the link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and couple distress, including the use of intimate partner violence (IPV). Following Dr. Marshall’s research indicating that men’s use of IPV is associated with deficits in the recognition of emotions expressed by their wives more so than unfamiliar women and men, the CouPLES study is designed to examine successively earlier stages of social information processing, including perception and attention in response to relationship- and emotion-based stimuli. This work is designed to identify pivotal points of departure from normal social information processing. Simultaneously, communication behaviors and a variety of other couple processes were measured during a 10-hour protocol to yield a comprehensive understanding of the impact of PTSD on couple relationships. Currently, Dr. Steffany Fredman and Emily Taverna are examining voice fundamental frequency as a measure of communicated stress during couple interactions as well as PTSD and IPV interviews with study personnel. Dissemination efforts are ongoing.

CouPLES Study Publications

Fredman, S. J., Fischer, M. S., Baucom, D. H., Le, Y., Taverna, E. C., Chow, S.-M., Ram, N. & Marshall, A. D. (in press). PTSD symptom cluster severity predicts micro timescale emotion regulatory processes in couples. Behavior Therapy.

Taverna, E.C., McGuier, D.J., & Marshall, A.D. (in press). Perpetration of intimate partner violence and guilt: The role of parenting status. Journal of Family Trauma, Child Custody & Child Development.

Mattern, A. C., & Marshall, A. D. (2020). Aggression in the context of partner threat: The role of trauma exposure. Partner Abuse, 11, 140-157.

Marshall, A. D., Mattern, A. C., & Wong, J. D. (2021). Concordance of reports of intimate partner violence across partners and measures: The impact of posttraumatic stress disorder. Assessment, 28, 1601-1613.

Leifker, F. R. & Marshall, A. D. (2019). The impact of negative attributions on the link between observed partner social support and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 65, 19-25.

Sullivan, T. J., Leifker, F. R., & Marshall, A. D. (2018). Observed emotional expressivity, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and intimate partner violence perpetration among community couples. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 31, 352-361.

Leifker, F. R., Hanley, K., Blandon, A. Y., & Marshall, A. D. (2015). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms impact the emotional experience of intimacy during couple discussions. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 29, 119-127.

Parker-Guilbert, K. S., Leifker, F. R., Sippel, L. M., & Marshall, A. D. (2014). The differential diagnostic accuracy of the PTSD Checklist among men and women in a community sample. Psychiatry Research, 220, 679-686.

Marshall, A. D. & Leifker, F. R. (2014). The impact of childhood physical abuse and age of sexual initiation on women’s maladaptive posttraumatic cognitions. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 23, 136-150.

Hanley, K., Leifker, F. R., Blandon, A. Y., & Marshall, A. D. (2013). Gender differences in the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms on intimacy among community couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 27, 525-530.

Sippel, L. M. & Marshall, A. D. (2013). Posttraumatic stress disorder and fear of emotions: The role of attentional control. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26, 397-400.

Sippel, L. M. & Marshall, A. D. (2011). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, intimate partner violence perpetration, and the mediating role of shame processing bias. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 903-910.