Married couples and long-term romantic partners typically engage in a variety of behaviors that sustain and nourish the relationship. These actions promote higher levels of commitment, which benefits couples’ physical and psychological health. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at how such relationship maintenance behaviors interact with satisfaction and commitment.
The researchers analyzed data from 192 heterosexual married couples. Each partner completed an online survey separately. Participants reported their own relationship maintenance behaviors over the past two weeks, as well as their perception of the partner's behaviors. The surveys also included questions measuring relationship satisfaction and commitment.
The results contained some unexpected findings, as there were few direct effects of relationship maintenance behaviors on commitment. However, relationship satisfaction appeared as a moderating factor between relationship maintenance and commitment. In other words, higher levels of satisfaction led to a more positive assessment of the partner’s behavior, which strengthened commitment.
Another unexpected finding was that similarity in relationship maintenance behaviors was negatively correlated with wives’ level of commitment. Studies have shown that similarity in personality traits, values, and attitudes enhance relationship satisfaction. However, for relationship maintenance strategies, complementary approaches may be more beneficial.
Brian Ogolsky, professor in HDFS, is co-author on the paper. “Our study aligns with existing literature showing that relationship maintenance enactment and satisfaction are related to commitment,” he said. “At the same time, we found that most relationship maintenance processes at the individual level are associated with commitment only when moderated by satisfaction, which underscores the complexity of couple dynamics.”
The paper, "The role of individual- and interactive-level relationship maintenance on married couples' commitment," is published in Personal Relationships [doi.org/10.1111/pere.12517]. Authors include Yifan Hu, Brian Ogolsky, and Laura Stafford.
(Newswise/AM)