Giving up and giving in: the costs and benefits of daily sacrifice in intimate relationships.
This research provided the first empirical investigation of how approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice in intimate relationships are associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. In Study 1, the nature of everyday sacrifices made by dating partners was examined, and a measure of approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice was developed. In Study 2, which was a 2-week daily experience study of college students in dating relationships, specific predictions from the theoretical model were tested and both longitudinal and dyadic components were included. Whereas approach motives for sacrifice were positively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality, avoidance motives for sacrifice were negatively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. Sacrificing for avoidance motives was particularly detrimental to the maintenance of relationships over time. Perceptions of a partner's motives for sacrifice were also associated with well-being and relationship quality. Implications for the conceptualization of relationship maintenance processes along these 2 dimensions are discussed.
Impett
Emily A
EA
Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. eimpett@sfsu.edu
Gable
Shelly L
SL
Peplau
Letitia Anne
LA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000533:Altruism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009769:Object Attachment; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011340:Problem Solving; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012945:Social Values