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We Always Hurt the Ones We Love

Aversive Interactions in Close Relationships

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Aversive Interpersonal Behaviors

Part of the book series: The Springer Series in Social/Clinical Psychology ((SSSC))

Abstract

Some marriages work. Now and then, two people somehow manage to fulfill the many psychological and practical duties of marital partners with contentment and delight, remaining intimate, interdependent, and happy with each other for several straight decades. Most marriages do not work, however, especially by a criterion of unbroken bliss. The chance that a new marriage will ultimately end in divorce continues to exceed 50% in the United States (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1995), but that datum unquestionably underestimates the actual base rate of distress: If one also accepts as broken those marriages in which the spouses (a) are separated but not divorced or (b) are simply miserable, the real rate of failure probably exceeds 70% (Martin & Bumpass, 1989; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1995).

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  1. Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, 77341-2447, USA

    Rowland S. Miller

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  1. Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA

    Robin M. Kowalski

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Miller, R.S. (1997). We Always Hurt the Ones We Love. In: Kowalski, R.M. (eds) Aversive Interpersonal Behaviors. The Springer Series in Social/Clinical Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9354-3_2

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