Date of Award:

5-1998

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Human Development and Family Studies

Department name when degree awarded

Family and Human Development

Committee Chair(s)

Scot M. Allgood

Committee

Scot M. Allgood

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if therapist age and gender have a relationship with the influence tactics used by the therapist in marital therapy, and if this relationship influences the communication behaviors of couples m marital therapy. There has been much research conducted on couples' communication behaviors in therapy, yet n one of the research relates the relationship of the age and the gender of therapists with couples' communiCation behaviors in therapy. This is an exploratory study to examine this relationship.

Forty-four to-minute videotaped segments of marital therapy were coded to examine the influence tactics used by the therapists, as well as the communication behaviors of the couples in session. Results indicate that therapist age and gender do no t have a statistically significant relationship with the influence tactics used by the therapist in mutual therapy. In addition, the influence tactics that were used by therapists do not have a statistically significant relationship with the communication behaviors of the couple in marital therapy.

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