Partners’ Withdrawal When Actors Behave Destructively: Implications for Perceptions of Partners’ Responsiveness and Relationship Satisfaction

Growing evidence indicates that whether critical and hostile behavior harms relationships depends on how partners respond. The current studies test a key behavioral indicator of partners’ responsiveness by examining whether partners’ withdrawal when actors exhibit negative-direct behavior predicts within-person and longitudinal declines in perceived partner responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. Test of Actors’ negative-direct × Partners’ withdrawal interactions indicated that partners’ withdrawal in the context of actors’ negative-direct behavior when targeted for change during conflict discussions (Study 1, N = 162 dyads) and during daily interactions (Study 2, N = 151 dyads) predicted lower perceived partner responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. This Actor × Partner effect did not emerge when actors were pushing for change during conflict (Study 1) and was more consistent predicting perceived partner responsiveness. These results illustrate the importance of Actor × Partner effects and indicate that actors’ own destructive behavior provides an important context to diagnose partners’ responsiveness.