title: Self-respect and pro-relationship behavior in marital relationships.
abstract: This work advances an interdependence theoretic analysis of the role of self-respect in ongoing close relationships. Self-respect is defined as the tendency to perceive the self as a principled person who is worthy of honor and high regard and is argued to rest on moral integrity. Consistent with predictions, results from a study of marital relationships revealed that individual self-respect is positively associated with both the individual's and the partner's pro-relationship behavior (accommodation, forgiveness, conciliation). Mediation analyses revealed that self-respect not only exhibits direct associations with each person's behavior, but also exhibits indirect associations with each person's behavior, via the impact of each person's actions on reciprocal pro-relationship behavior from the partner. Mediation was more reliably observed for the association of self-respect with partner behavior than for the association with individual behavior. Both individual pro-relationship behavior and partner pro-relationship behavior are positively associated with couple well-being, which in turn is positively associated with personal well-being (life satisfaction, physical health, psychological adjustment). These associations were evident in both within-participant and across-partner analyses and for both self-report and interaction-based measures of behavior. Self-respect reliably accounts for unique variance beyond variance attributable to self-esteem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-3270, USA. madoka_kumashiro@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Madoka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumashiro
authors.forename: Eli J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Finkel
authors.forename: Caryl E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rusbult
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D014481:United States