Qualitative reports of problems in cohabiting relationships: Comparisons to married and dating relationships.

Abstract

Although previous research has demonstrated increased relationship distress and separation for cohabiting couples, little is known about specific problems cohabiting individuals encounter in comparison to dating and married individuals. This study examines open-ended reports of 1,252 individuals' (220 dating, 231 cohabiting, and 801 married) relationship concerns using a detailed, reliable coding system. The top 5 areas considered most problematic by cohabiting individuals were problems in specific areas of their current relationship, individual problems, general communication, arguments, and emotional affection-distance. Dating and cohabiting individuals reported similar frequencies of global problems except that cohabiting individuals reported more problems with arguments and fewer problems with relationship commitment. Married and cohabiting individuals had more differences in their reports of relationship concerns; results suggested that cohabiting relationships tended to be both more vibrant and more volatile than marital relationships. However, most differences between relationship types were no longer significant after controlling for individuals' relationship and demographic characteristics.

Dyadic perfectionism in romantic relationships: Predicting relationship satisfaction and longterm commitment

“…In university students, negative effects have been found only for the discrepancy aspect of partner-oriented perfectionism (Lopez et al, 2006;Shea et al, 2006). Consequently, it is unclear what effects partner-prescribed perfectionism has in students' romantic relationships, particularly as romantic relationships in students have shown a number of significant differences (e.g., more commitment problems) compared to those in married couples (Hsueh, Morrison, & Doss, 2009;Punyanunt-Carter, 2004). Second, only the two studies with married couples (Habke et al, 1999;Haring et al, 2003) involved both dyad members and examined actor and partner effects.…”

“…Moreover, we did not check if participants were cohabitating (cf. Hsueh et al, 2009). Finally, the present study used the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991) to measure partner-oriented perfectionism as a one-dimensional, unitary construct.…”

Diferencias en satisfacción con la relación entre variables demográficas y religiosidad.

“…En el presente estudio, el 10% de participantes señaló vivir en unión libre; mientras que todos los participantes estaban casados en el estudio de Moral (2008), y el porcentaje de personas en unión libre fue aún mayor (24%) en el estudio de Sáenz (2014) que en el presente estudio, por lo que el efecto de reportar de menor satisfacción entre las personas en unión libre (Hsueh, Morrison, & Doss, 2009;Kim, Capaldi & Crosby, 2007) sobre la media estimada no está claro.…”

Communal Strength Norms in the United States and Egypt

“…Young adults are encouraged to form monogamous dating relationships and to become self-reliant and independent from their family (Sanderson & Cantor, 1995 After making a long term commitment in an intimate romantic relationship, most Americans choose to cohabit with their romantic partner prior to marriage. Estimates are as high as 70% of all couples cohabitating prior to marriage (Hsueh, Morrison, & Doss, 2009;Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2009). Among young adults, cohabitation may be seen as an acceptable way to "try out" a marriage and the couple's compatibility before a legal commitment is made (Kline et al, 2004), and parents tend to have little influence on the choice of dating and marital partners as well as the timing of marriage.…”