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Family approval as a constraint in dependency regulation: Evidence from Australia and Indonesia
Author(s) -
MacDONALD GEOFF,
JESSICA MARGARETA
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2006.00112.x
Subject(s) - dependency (uml) , constraint (computer aided design) , indonesian , psychology , perception , feeling , social psychology , romance , sample (material) , developmental psychology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics , chemistry , systems engineering , chromatography , neuroscience , psychoanalysis , engineering
Murray and colleagues’ dependency regulation model suggests that individuals in romantic relationships permit themselves to be emotionally dependent on a romantic partner only when they are certain they are valued by their partners. We argue that in cultures where family has a role in mate selection, family approval of the relationship provides an additional constraint on emotional dependence. Reports of relationship perceptions were collected from Australian and Indonesian individuals in dating relationships. The traditional dependency regulation model was affirmed for the Australian sample, but regulation of emotional dependence was best accounted for by both feelings of security in a partner’s affections and perceptions of approval from the partner’s family for the Indonesian sample.