Factors that predicted breakups before marriage, investigated as part of a two-year study of dating relationships among college students, included unequal involvement in the relationship (as suggested by exchange theory) and discrepant age, educational aspirations, intelligence, and physical attractiveness (as suggested by filtering models). T h e timing of breakups was highly related to the school calendar, pointing to the importance of external factors in structuring breakups. T h e desire to break up was seldom mutual; women were more likely than men to perceive problems in premarital relationships and somewhat more likely to be the ones to precipitate the breakups. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for the process of mate selection and their implications for marital breakup. ("The best divorce is the one you get before you get married.") For all the concern with the high incidence of divorce in contemporary America, marital separation accounts for only a small proportion of the breakups of intimate male-female rela-

This study tested Rusbult's investment model of relationship commitment and stability using data from both partners of 167 heterosexual couples studied from 1972 to 1987. Multiple regression analyses generally confirmed predictions that rewards and costs account for a significant proportion of the variance in satisfaction and that satisfaction, investments, and quality of alternatives together account for a significant proportion of the variance in commitment. Evidence about the hypothesized mediational role of subjective commitment in predicting the duration of relationships was mixed. Path analyses showed that Rusbult's model provided an adequate fit to the data and that the associations among variables were similar for men and women. The model successfully predicted relationship duration over a 15-year period. Limitations of the model and directions for future research are considered.

The patterning of sexual interaction in male‐female dyads and the links between sexual behavior and emotional intimacy were investigated as part of a two‐year study of college dating couples. Despite generally permissive and egalitarian attitudes, traditional sexual role playing in which the man encourages intercourse and the woman limits the couple's sexual intimacy was common. Three types of couples were compared: sexual traditionalists who abstained from coitus, sexual moderates who had coitus only after emotional intimacy was established, and sexual liberals who had coitus prior to developing emotional intimacy. Findings are discussed in terms of the psychological meaning of sexual behavior for young adults.

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