Facilitativeness, conflict, demand for approval, self-esteem, and satisfaction with romantic relationships.
This study is an examination of the extent to which satisfaction with a main current romantic relationship is associated with negative conflict, demand for approval, self-esteem, and the 3 facilitative conditions of unconditional regard, empathy, and congruence. One or more of these conditions have been proposed as important determinants of relationship satisfaction by various relationship-enhancement approaches such as behavioral marital therapy and cognitive-behavioral marital therapy. College students (86 women and 58 men) completed S. S. Hendrick's (1988) Relationship Satisfaction Scale, a measure of negative conflict formulated by the author, R. G. Jones's (1969) Demand for Approval Scale (modified for a particular relationship), M. Rosenberg's (1965) Self-Esteem Scale, and a shortened modified version of G. T. Barrett-Lennard's (1964) Relationship Inventory. Relationship satisfaction was most strongly related to the level of regard and empathy, which is consistent with approaches to relationships that emphasize empathy training.
Cramer
Duncan
D
Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, United Kingdom. d.cramer@lboro.ac.uk
D000328:Adult; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D012932:Social Facilitation