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The silent treatment isn't something you left back on the playground. In fact, if you've ever been particularly icy or unresponsive after your partner pissed you off, you're probably guilty of it, too. And unfortunately, the results may be way more damaging than you think.
According to new research published in the journal Communication Monographs, the silent treatment is often viewed as a "demand/withdraw" pattern, which is basically where one person demands, critiques, or complains, while the other withdraws passively and defensively.
By doing a meta-analysis of 74 studies about this between 1987 and 2011, researchers were able to get a bigger picture about what exactly occurs when this habit becomes the norm.









