Fiery wives and icy husbands: Pre-marital counseling and covenant marriage as buffers against effects of childhood abuse on gendered marital communication?

We examine relationships between childhood abuse and two maladaptive marital communication patterns – hostile and withdrawing – and test whether covenant marriage or pre-marital counseling mediate the effects of childhood abuse. Drawing on a sample from the Marriage Matters (1997–2004) data, we find both gendered differences in communication and in the relationship between childhood abuse and negative communication patterns. Wives are more likely to use a hostile style of communication, whereas husbands are more likely to use a withdrawing style. We also find that childhood abuse affects hostile communication for both spouses but influences only wives’ withdrawing. Neither covenant marriage nor pre-marital counseling is associated with hostile communication for either spouse. Covenant marriage increases husbands’ withdrawal from conflict, whereas pre-marital counseling increases the use of withdrawing communication in both wives and husbands.