The Role of Identity in the Link between Relationship Thinking and Relationship Satisfaction

Abstract

The link between a partner's thinking about the relationship and relationship satisfaction has been shown to be stronger for women than men. The main goal of this study was to examine the extent to which one's identity (rather than biological sex) moderates that link. In a survey of 238 couples (90 unmarried and 148 married), results indicated that, for unmarried couples, a general relational identity, or the tendency to see oneself in relation to others in general, moderated the association between positive relationship thinking and satisfaction. For married couples, a couple identity, or the tendency to see oneself as part of the specific relationship, moderated this association. These results were generally the same for both men and women, indicating that one's identity may be more important than biological sex in determining concurrent associations between relationship thinking and relationship satisfaction. However, longitudinal findings suggest that long-term outcomes of positive relationship thinking may be stronger for women than men. Results are discussed in terms of the development and importance of a specific couple identity in committed relationships.

Intimacy and relationship processes in couples' psychosocial adaptation to cancer

“…104 Relationship awareness consists of 2 key components: viewing oneself as part of a couple 105 and talking with one's partner about the relationship. 106 Greater relationship awareness is associated with higher levels of happiness, commitment, and love between married couples 107 as well as the psychologic adjustment of individual partners.…”

Explaining Gender Differences in Depression: an Interpersonal Contingent Self-Esteem Perspective

“…Individuals whose self-esteem is contingent on the quality of their interpersonal relationships are likely to see more interpersonal interactions as having implications for relationship outcomes, and in turn themselves. Several studies show that relationship oriented behaviors (social support, constructive conflict resolution, talking about the relationship) are related to women's but not men's individual well-being and relationship satisfaction (Acitelli 1988(Acitelli , 1992Acitelli et al 1993;Acitelli et al 1999). These findings suggest that women see other's behaviors as having more import with regard to relationships than men do.…”

“…We believe that the interpersonal domain is of particular importance when considering gender differences in depression. Women are more likely than men to define themselves in terms of their relationships with others (Acitelli 1992;Acitelli et al 1999;Cross and Madson 1997;Gore et al 2006). In addition, girls and women are more likely than boys and men to experience interpersonal stress, including both problems occurring in their relationships with friends and family and problems occurring to their friends and family (e.g., Conger et al 1993;Gore et al 1993;Robbins and Tanck 1991;Rudolph and Hammen 1999).…”

Relationship satisfaction of HIV-positive Ugandan individuals with HIV-negative partners

“…Studies often find that depression and relationship satisfaction are negatively associated (Waltz et al, 1988); similarly, health and relationship satisfaction are inversely related (Kang & Marks, 2014) while a lack of reciprocity and the extent one perceives being burdensome complicates interactions (Cousineau, McDowell, Hotz, & Hébert, 2003). We also hypothesized that couple identity, or how much the couple is integral the self (Acitelli, Rogers, & Knee, 1999), would be positively related to relationship satisfaction.…”