The proposed research will investigate the determinants of marital stability. Because disruptions in marital relationships have been implicated as the cause of a host of emotional and physical problems, determining the conditions under which marriages endure is an important national health concern. Social psychologists have argued that relationship stability is a product of the couple's commitment to the relationship. In concentrating on the proximal, cognitive factors associated with commitment, research has largely overlooked other more distal factors, such as interaction processes, that may more accurately predict the future course of a relationship. Moreover, most work has been correlational and little information is therefore available to make predictions about, or to direct interventions to promote, marital stability. Guided by a theoretical model of commitment developed by the PI, the proposed research will: (a) examine whether a couple's interaction processes are related to commitment; (b) attempt to identify the cognitions that mediate this relationship; and (c) examine the relationship between commitment and marital stability. In a longitudinal study, 180 newly married couples will complete measures of these variables 6 to 9 months into their marriages, and twice again, 6 months later and 12 months later. Structural equation modeling will be used to examine the relationships among these variables over time and to test alternative models. The study will also examine whether the occurrence of relationship stressors has an effect on commitment and marital stability and will identify the changes in interaction that occur as the result of these stressors. Finally, the effects on and the effects of commitment on the processing of relationship relevant information will be examined.
