A comparison of interaction rules and interaction frequency in relationship to marital quality

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare the contributing role of two aspects of social interaction to the quality of marital relationships: the frequency of casual interaction between marital partners versus the quality of social interaction as exhibited by partners’ reliance on universal rules of social interaction. Specifically we examine the relative contribution of frequency of casual interaction and reliance on interaction rules to assessments of marital quality. Findings indicate that although each of these features is associated with trust, liking, satisfaction, and commitment, reliance on basic interaction rules plays the more important role, explaining 51% of the variance in the composite marital quality index.