Relational power, marital schema, and decisions to withhold complaints: An investigation of the chilling effect on confrontation in marriage

Abstract

Previous research on dating relationships suggests that perceptions of a partner's power exert a chilling effect on the expression of relational grievances. This paper extends the chilling effect perspective by examining two issues: (a) whether a partner's power corresponds with decisions to withhold complaints within marriage, and (b) whether the manifestation of the chilling effect varies as a Junction of individual differences in marital schema. Married individuals (N = 215) completed questionnaire measures of a partner's power, marital schema, and decisions to withhold complaints from spouses. Findings underscore the importance of both power and marital schema within spouses’ decisions to express complaints.

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