Ons for our hypotheses. Thus, the current study provides novel evidence that highlights the protective influence of effective problem-solving skills at an earlier point in the economic stress process and for a generation of younger as well as middle-aged couples. Potential Implications and Future Directions Our finding that effective problem solving disrupted the association between economic stress and relationship distress for two generations of romantic couples of different ages and cohorts has potential implications for practitioners working to promote resilience among couples and families within and even across generations. Because problem solving may be considered to some degree a teachable skill (e.g., Hawkins et al., 2008), practitioners should continue to focus their efforts on enhancing couples’ active communication and problemsolving strategies, especially in the face of economic stress. Also important, practitioners could help improve romantic partner’s appraisals or attributions of the other partner’s problem-solving skills inasmuch as these appraisals were found to protect couples from experiencing increases in hostile, angry, and contemptuous behaviors over time even if the couple reported they were experiencing high levels of economic pressure. In sum, effective problem-solving skills operated as both a compensatory and a buffering source of resilience in associations between economic pressure and hostile romantic relationship behaviors over time. Overall, these findings provide novel evidence in support of the basic propositions laid out by the GSK343 web family Stress Model (e.g., Conger Conger, 2002;Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptJ Marriage Fam. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 April 01.Masarik et al.PageConger et al., 2010), including aspects of couple resilience to economic pressure (via effective problem solving) that have not been previously examined. That each of our hypotheses was supported by the data for both G1 and G2 couples suggests that these processes appear to play out across generations. That said, future work should further consider linking economic pressures, behaviors in romantic relationships, and sources of couple resilience between generations and investigate the mechanisms that might help explain intergenerational continuities in stress and resilience processes. For instance, might adult children learn how to effectively problem solve with their romantic partner by observing their parents do so earlier in life (i.e., social learning)? Indeed, earlier Pan-RAS-IN-1 solubility research has found that effective inter-parental problem solving is associated with more effective parent-child problem solving as well as problem solving between siblings (see Conger, Williams, Little, Masyn, Shebloski, 2009); thus, development of these skills may be especially important in the context of earlier family environments. Future research should begin to address the specific behavioral mechanisms through which children learn how to effectively problem solve with family members as well as with close others outside of the family of origin (e.g., friends and classmates). Also important, earlier family environments may shape offspring’s personality development in ways that perpetuate intergenerational continuities in romantic relationship behaviors as well as socioeconomic conditions. For example, might parents who are highly skilled problem solvers foster certain personality traits of children conduciv.Ons for our hypotheses. Thus, the current study provides novel evidence that highlights the protective influence of effective problem-solving skills at an earlier point in the economic stress process and for a generation of younger as well as middle-aged couples. Potential Implications and Future Directions Our finding that effective problem solving disrupted the association between economic stress and relationship distress for two generations of romantic couples of different ages and cohorts has potential implications for practitioners working to promote resilience among couples and families within and even across generations. Because problem solving may be considered to some degree a teachable skill (e.g., Hawkins et al., 2008), practitioners should continue to focus their efforts on enhancing couples’ active communication and problemsolving strategies, especially in the face of economic stress. Also important, practitioners could help improve romantic partner’s appraisals or attributions of the other partner’s problem-solving skills inasmuch as these appraisals were found to protect couples from experiencing increases in hostile, angry, and contemptuous behaviors over time even if the couple reported they were experiencing high levels of economic pressure. In sum, effective problem-solving skills operated as both a compensatory and a buffering source of resilience in associations between economic pressure and hostile romantic relationship behaviors over time. Overall, these findings provide novel evidence in support of the basic propositions laid out by the Family Stress Model (e.g., Conger Conger, 2002;Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptJ Marriage Fam. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 April 01.Masarik et al.PageConger et al., 2010), including aspects of couple resilience to economic pressure (via effective problem solving) that have not been previously examined. That each of our hypotheses was supported by the data for both G1 and G2 couples suggests that these processes appear to play out across generations. That said, future work should further consider linking economic pressures, behaviors in romantic relationships, and sources of couple resilience between generations and investigate the mechanisms that might help explain intergenerational continuities in stress and resilience processes. For instance, might adult children learn how to effectively problem solve with their romantic partner by observing their parents do so earlier in life (i.e., social learning)? Indeed, earlier research has found that effective inter-parental problem solving is associated with more effective parent-child problem solving as well as problem solving between siblings (see Conger, Williams, Little, Masyn, Shebloski, 2009); thus, development of these skills may be especially important in the context of earlier family environments. Future research should begin to address the specific behavioral mechanisms through which children learn how to effectively problem solve with family members as well as with close others outside of the family of origin (e.g., friends and classmates). Also important, earlier family environments may shape offspring’s personality development in ways that perpetuate intergenerational continuities in romantic relationship behaviors as well as socioeconomic conditions. For example, might parents who are highly skilled problem solvers foster certain personality traits of children conduciv.
