Articlegreen2011

A Longitudinal Investigation of Commitment Dynamics in Cohabiting Relationships

GALENA KLINE RHOADES · Scott M. Stanley · Howard J. Markman

69 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Family Issues

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

Family Dynamics and Relationships Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Marriage and Sexual Relationships

Abstract

This longitudinal study followed 120 cohabiting couples over 8 months to test hypotheses derived from commitment theory about how two types of commitment (dedication and constraints) operate during cohabitation. In nearly half the couples, there were large differences between partners in terms of dedication. These differences were associated with lower relationship adjustment, even controlling for overall level of dedication. Further, among couples who believed in the institution of marriage, cohabiting women were, on average, more dedicated than their partners. Additionally, there was evidence that constraints (e.g., signing a lease, having a joint bank account) may make it less likely that couples will break-up, regardless of relationship dedication. This finding was strongest for women and for those with higher income levels.

Citations in this library

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 69 citations exist upstream.

References

1976Measuring Dyadic Adjustment: New Scales for Assessing the Quality of Marriage and Similar Dyads 2000Trends in cohabitation and implications for children s family contexts in the United States 2017Vital Health Statistics 1993Commitment Processes in Close Relationships: An Interdependence Analysis 1992Assessing Commitment in Personal Relationships 2000Cohabitation in the United States: An Appraisal of Research Themes, Findings, and Implications 2006The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships 1996Cohabitation versus Marriage: A Comparison of Relationship Quality

Cited by

2010Should I stay or should I go? Predicting dating relationship stability from four aspects of commitment.2019“Will you complete this survey too?” Differences between individual versus dyadic samples in relationship research.2012Relationship Quality, Commitment, and Stability in Long‐Distance Relationships 2014Do coresidence and intentions make a difference? Relationship satisfaction in married, cohabiting, and living apart together couples in four countries 2010Physical aggression in unmarried relationships: The roles of commitment and constraints.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.