Dependence power, severity appraisals, and communicative decisions about problematic events in dating relationships

Abstract

Individuals in relationships accrue dependence power to the extent that they are perceived by a committed partner to be uncommitted to the relationship and have viable relationship alternatives (Cloven & Roloff, 1993). This investigation examined how relational dependence power influences post‐hoc appraisals and communicative decisions about problematic events for both problematic event offenders and observers. One hundred and six dating couples participated in this investigation. Each person individually completed measures of dependence power. Then, one person in each couple was designated the offender and the other was the observer of one of five hypothetical problematic events; participants rated the severity of the scenario, as welt as completing several measures related to defining the scenario as a problematic event. Respondents also reported the likelihood that they would not communicate about the situation. Analyses indicated that for offenders, appraisals of problematic event severity were negatively associated with partner's commitment and positively associated with perceptions of partner's alternatives; the opposite pattern was indicated for observers. Moreover, when events were appraised as serious, offenders and observers were less likely to avoid communicating about the situation. Little support was found for the association between dependence power and decisions to communicate about problematic events.