Women are very detail oriented and men are not. Women like to read into things, which is probably due to our own interaction with other women rather than male to female interaction. A woman can say a statement a million different ways, and it can have a million different meanings, whereas with men, if he makes a statement, it usually means exactly what he's saying. They aren't as cryptic as we are, and I think that's where the breakdowns usually occur. Women take the principles of interacting with other women and assume that it's the same for men, which usually leads to misunderstanding and that causes a breakdown in communication.
Also, there are so many factors that come into play...the couples own individual childhoods, the way they learned to fight and argue, the way they handle tough situations solo, etc. There isn't just one thing that breaks down communication in marriages and relationships, it a collaborative.
