How Do Relationship Maintenance Behaviors Affect Individual Well-Being?: A Contextual Perspective

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Levi R. Baker, Assistant Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: How do relationship maintenance behaviors affect individual well-being? Given that people who invest time and effort toward achieving important goals see their outcomes as more reflective of their skills and abilities than do people who invest less time and effort, engaging in relationship maintenance behaviors may lead people to experience increased individual well-being when those behaviors appear to be successful but decreased well-being when they appear to be unsuccessful. A diary study of romantic relationships, a diary study of friendships, and a longitudinal study of newlyweds provided support for this prediction. In all three studies, relationship maintenance behaviors were negatively associated with depressive mood when followed by relatively high relationship quality, but positively associated with depressive mood when followed by relatively low relationship quality. Accordingly, relationship maintenance processes are not inherently beneficial or harmful; their intrapersonal implications depend on the context in which they occur.

Additional Information

Publication
Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(3), 282-289. Copyright © 2012 (The authors). DOI: 10.1177/1948550612452891
Language: English
Date: 2012
Keywords
relationship maintenance, interdependence, depression, marriage, conflict

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