The Timing of Divorce: Predicting When a Couple Will Divorce Over a 14-Year Period

Fourteen-year prospective study of 79 couples. Negative affect during conflict predicted EARLY divorce, whereas the absence of positive affect (a devitalized, flat relationship) predicted LATER divorce. Identifies two high-risk periods: the first ~7 years and midlife. Underscores that how couples handle conflict, not the mere presence of conflict, forecasts dissolution.