Premium
Intimacy, communication, and aggressive behaviors: Variations by phases of romantic relationship development
Author(s) -
REESEWEBER MARLA
Publication year - 2015
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/pere.12074
Subject(s) - psychology , honeymoon , romance , social psychology , constructive , negotiation , aggression , stalking , developmental psychology , positive relationship , psychoanalysis , sociology , social science , process (computing) , political science , computer science , law , operating system , psychiatry
This study examined how phases of romantic relationship development (honeymoon, defining, and established) were related to positive and negative relationship qualities. Participants ( N = 136) completed self‐report measures. Results found significant differences between phases of romantic relationship development for all three positive relationship qualities, but each had a unique pattern of variation: (a) levels of intimacy had a linear increase across phases, (b) constructive communication strategies were higher in the established phase as compared with the earlier phases, and (c) negotiation was higher in both the defining and established phases as compared to the honeymoon phase. Results for negative relationships qualities found an inverted U‐shaped pattern for both destructive communication strategies and psychological aggression.