Relational load when a romantic partner is unemployed: the role of communal coping and social network support

ABSTRACT

Romantic partners of unemployed individuals uniquely experience stress due to spillover effects of unemployment and their role as primary support providers for the unemployed individual. The present study drew on the extended theoretical model of communal coping (TMCC) to examine a process of communal coping experienced by romantic partners (N = 285) of unemployed individuals, who completed an online survey. Analyses indicated that stress related to unemployment was negatively associated with a partner’s communal coping and communal coping was negatively associated with relational load. Perceived support from friends and family acted as a moderating influence on the relationships among stress, communal coping, and relational load. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Unemployment
• communal coping
• relational load
• romantic partners
• personal networks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Comparing employed participants vs. unemployed participants is not feasible due to group size, but it would be something for future research to investigate.

2. The item was dropped from the measure following a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which indicated the item loaded poorly on the factor. Model fit was determined to be acceptable when the comparative fit index (CFI) was > .95 and the standardized root mean-squared residual (SRMR) was < .10 (Hu & Bentler, 1999). The final four item scale obtained acceptable fit, χ² (df = 2) = 19.26, p = .000, CFI = .97, SRMR = .03.

3. A CFA indicated that the two dropped items had low factor loadings. The final four item scale obtained acceptable fit, χ² (df = 2) = 3.45, p = .18, CFI = .996, SRMR = .02.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jenny L. Crowley

Jenny L. Crowley (Ph.D., The University of Iowa) is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at The University of Tennessee.

Joshua R. Pederson

Joshua R. Pederson (Ph.D., The University of Iowa) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at The University of Alabama.