1,169
Views
5
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Mutuality and the Communication of Commitment in Romantic Relationships

Pages 24-41 | Published online: 30 May 2008
 

Abstract

This study explored the ways people communicate their commitment to their romantic partners based on their perceived degree of mutuality of commitment. Mutuality exists when people perceive that their own and their partner's levels of commitment are equal. Data collected from 319 people indicated that (a) people have specific ways to communicate their commitment to their partners, (b) people are more likely to engage in this type of communication when they believe that they and their partners share the same degree of commitment, and (c) the emotions connected with mutuality are important links between mutuality of commitment and the ways people communicate that commitment. The findings are discussed in terms of how couples construct commitment through communication.

Notes

Note. All univariate F tests are significant at p < .001. Means with different superscripts are significantly different from one another.

Note. All correlations significant at p < .001.

Note. N ranges from 312–314. Reported coefficients are betas. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

The complete measure can be obtained from the author at [email protected].

The Bonferroni correction for alpha is p < .003.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.