The spouse observation checklist: Empirical analysis and critique

Abstract

Fifty couples completed questionnaires designed to test two assumptions of a major assessment instrument in behavioral marriage therapy—the Spouse Observation Checklist. The assumption that this checklist represents the universe of marital pleasing and displeasing events received some support. Generally, couples rated items appropriately as pleasing, displeasing or neutral, and correlations between item occurrence and marital happiness measures were as predicted. The assumption that couples can reliably observe their own behavior was not supported. Comparisons of independent spouse reports revealed agreement levels that were greater than chance but less than the minimums usually employed in observational research. Furthermore, agreement indices were significantly correlated with measures of daily happiness in the relationship and, to a lesser extent, of general marital happiness. The implication of these findings for collecting observational data via the self-reports of couples is discussed.