Commitment in marriage: For better and for worse.

Abstract

This study examined critical aspects of commitment in the context of the marriage relationship. Using 373 couples in their third year of marriage, three types of marital commitment (personal, interpersonal and social), and the relationship between these types and marital stability in the fourth year of marriage were examined. Commitment of a personal type reflected a willingness to remain in the relationship despite restrictive costs. Interpersonal commitment referred to thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of togetherness. Commitment of a social nature was indicated by perceptions of staying in marriage due to social network pressures and religious beliefs. Of primary interest was the extent to which individuals differed in each commitment type in terms of social demographic variables and marital processes thought to undermine commitment. Social demographic variables included gender, race, parental status and household income. Process variables were experiences of tension, problematic sexual relationships, family and friend interference, and inequity. Results indicate that social demographic variables are important predictors of commitment, although the three commitment types are not affected by demographic variables in exactly the same way. Negative process variables predicted each commitment type in the expected negative direction except for family interference and inequity which were positively related to interpersonal commitment. Regarding marital stability in the fourth year, interpersonal commitment was the strongest predictor of the three types. Collectively, this study indicates that important differences do occur for the three types of commitment suggesting that greater distinctions should be made in future research when referring to relationship commitment. Race and gender differences are also reported. Some clinical implications are discussed.