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An Initial Qualitative Exploration of Gottman's Couples Research: a Workshop from the Participants' Perspective Columbus Edward Brand

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An Initial Qualitative Exploration of Gottman's Couples Research: a Workshop from the Participants' Perspective Columbus Edward Brand Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 An Initial Qualitative Exploration of Gottman's Couples Research: A Workshop from the Participants' Perspective Columbus Edward Brand Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN SCIENCES AN INITIAL QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF GOTTMAN’S COUPLES RESEARCH: A WORKSHOP FROM THE PARTICIPANTS’ PERSPECTIVE By COLUMBUS EDWARD BRAND A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012 Columbus Edward Brand defended this dissertation on February 29th, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Robert E. Lee Pro fessor Directing Dissertation David Gussak University Representative Christine A. Readdick Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the Dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii A special thanks and remembrance is given to my father, Arnold; my brother, Larry; my uncle Jimmy Segrest; and my sister, Joan. I dedicate this to them as well as my wife, Shea Hughes- Brand; and mother, Ruth Brand. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I begin my acknowledgements with the people that were most influential in my life, but could not be here to help me celebrate this accomplishment. The first is my father, Arnold Edward Brand. He was a very colorful character with only a fourth grade education, which motivated him to impress upon his children the importance of having an education. Second is my brother, Larry Arnold Brand, who passed away at age 36 in 1984. He lived life as if he knew it would be brief. He taught me the joys of listening to and playing music. Third is my uncle, Jimmy Wayne Segrest, who was raised as my oldest brother and passed last year. He taught me that serving my country is a privilege and choice, which earns a membership to a special brotherhood. Finally is my sister, Beverly Joan Brand, who recently passed. She made me laugh and feel that I could truly do anything. She set the bar high among my siblings for artistic competence. Thank you for the love and patience from my wife, Shea Hughes-Brand, who, along with my mother, Ruth Brand, have given me support when it felt as if I could not continue. Thank you to my Dissertation Chair, Dr. Robert Lee, who truly went above and beyond for me through this process. I wish to thank Dr. Mary Hicks, for introducing me to Dr. John Gottman and other major figures that I often cite. I would like to give thanks to Dr. Christine Readdick, for her empathetic ear during times of stress, and finally, Dr. David Gussak, for understanding right brain thinkers. I also would like to extend my gratitude to the participants of this study. The short time spent with them during the workshop was very memorable thanks to the energy in which they displayed. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES vii ABSTRACT viii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 The Use of Grounded Theory 10 Summary 12 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 13 Introduction to Gottman and the Genesis of His Model 13 Use of Participants’ Perspectives 15 Gottman’s Research with Couples 1989-Present 17 Secondary Sources 26 Summary 34 3. METHODS 36 Purpose of the Study 36 Research Questions, Theoretical and Research Assumptions 37 Research Study Site, Research Design, Unit of Analysis 38 Study Population and Sampling Mechanism 39 Research Team 40 Psychoeducational Curriculum 41 Data Collection and Qualitative Analysis 42 Pilot Workshop Summary 58 Summary 59 4. RESEARCH FINDINGS 61 Sample Characteristics 61 Findings from Qualitative Analysis of Pre-Intervention Questionnaire 62 Pre-Intervention Questionnaire #1 63 Pre-Intervention Questionnaire #2 64 Pre-Intervention Questionnaire #3 64 Pre-Intervention Questionnaire #4 65 Finds from Qualitative Analysis of Intervention Questionnaire 66 Love Maps 66 v Nurturing a Culture of Fondness and Admiration 67 Turning Toward vs. Turning Away 69 Positive Sentiment Override 70 Regulation of Conflict 72 Honoring Dreams and Admiration 73 Creating Shared Meaning 75 Findings from Qualitative Analysis of Post-Intervention Interview Responses 76 Post-Intervention Interview Question #1 77 Post-Intervention Interview Question #2 79 Post-Intervention Interview Question #3 82 Post-Intervention Interview Question #4 84 Post-Intervention Interview Question #5 87 Post-Intervention Interview Rankings 88 Discussion 100 5. SUMMARY AND Conclusion 107 Research Implications 110 Limitations 122 Summary 112 6. APPENDICES 114 Appendix A: Workshop Questions 114 Appendix B: Workshop Demographics Questionnaire 115 Appendix C: Sound Relationship House Theory (Diagram) 116 Appendix D: Gottman-Based Couples Workshop Outline (Agenda) 117 Appendix E: Adult Informed Consent 118 Appendix F: FSU Institutional Review Board Approval Letter 120 Appendix G: Workshop Glossary of Gottman Concepts and Definitions 121 5. REFERENCES 142 6. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH/CURRICULUM VITAE 151 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE #1: Illustrative Open Coding Frame- Pre-Intervention Questionnaire 47 TABLE #2: Illustrative Open Coding Frame- Intervention Questionnaire 48 TABLE #3: Categories Emerging Showing Differences Within Themes 49 TABLE #4: Final Coding Key 51 TABLE #5: Sample Demographic Characteristics 61 TABLE #6: Final Distribution of Gottman Concept Rankings 90 TABLE #7: Comparing Pre-Intervention Responses to Intervention Responses 91 Comparing Field Notes to Pre-Intervention Responses 91 TABLE #8: Comparing Pre-Intervention Goals to Post-Intervention Responses 95 Comparing Field Notes to Post-Intervention Responses 95 vii ABSTRACT Distressed relationships may be emotionally and economically costly to the couple, their families, and the community in which they reside. Given the current political endorsements, convenience, efficiency, capacity for prevention, and overall lower cost of psychoeducational workshops, they should be explored for efficacy. Are they providing the promoters and participants with a viable option? Is there a possibility to improve any part of these options for optimizing their effectiveness? Using a qualitative method in the Grounded Theory Tradition, this study explored the input of 14 participants who attended an eight-hour, one day, psychoeducational workshop. The workshop was based on a faithful presentation of Dr. John Gottman’s couple’s research. Attendees became “active participants” by agreeing to provide personal information about their relationships and offering their perspectives at scheduled intervals during the workshop. The participants were interviewed one month after the workshop to ascertain what, if anything, they had found to be useful about the workshop. Sampling was an opportunity sample open to couples ages 18 and over who were married or unmarried, having children or without children, and although only heterosexual couples responded, it was open to all sexual orientations. The findings obtained were triangulated consisting of written surveys from the participants, the researcher’s field notes, and the participants’ audio-taped post- intervention interviews. The following twelve themes emerged: 1) Communication, Acceptable; 2) Communication, Unacceptable; 3) Conflict, Resolved; 4) Conflict, Unresolved; 5) Connectedness; 6) Disconnectedness; 7) Family, Acceptable; 8) Family, Unacceptable; 9) Finances, Managed; 10) Finances, Unmanaged; 11) Planning, Acceptable; and 12) Planning, Unacceptable. Initially, the participants indicated that they were focused on improving their communication and conflict resolution skills, but their participation level and expressed interests in specific blocks of information appeared to change throughout the workshop day. The Gottman concepts which indicated higher participant interest were again indicated in the post-intervention interview responses. Post-intervention interview questions one through four were coded using the existing themes. The following ten themes emerged: 1) Communication, Acceptable; 2) Communication, Unacceptable; 3) Conflict, Resolved; 4) Conflict, Unresolved; 5) Connectedness; 6) Disconnectedness; 7) Family, Acceptable; 8) Family, Unacceptable; 9) Finances, Managed; and 10) Planning, Acceptable. The theme Connectedness was coded considerably more times than the others. Conflict Resolution and Communication, Acceptable viii were discussed by the participants very heavily along with Planning, Acceptable. Lastly, for post intervention interview question number five, the participants were asked to rank-order their answers to question three and four relative to their perceived usefulness. Their number one choices were coded using the existing themes and the findings in descending order of use were: 1) Connectedness; 2) Communication, Acceptable; and 3) Conflict, Resolved. This corroborated the findings of the final coding seen in the post-intervention interviews questions one through four. However, the final distribution of the participants’ rank ordered answers to post- intervention interview question number five indicated a slight deviation in that the specific Gottman concept of Conflict Resolution was cited fourth overall as being useful. This shift in focus may have indicated that, although the participants had continuing concerns for coping with their relational communication skills and ability to resolve their conflicts, they were finding
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