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Differences In Nonmarital Relationships

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What are the things people want/expect/desire to experience fulfillment in their romantic relationships? Is there any difference in the need fulfillment of those who continue in romantic relationships versus/as compared to those who do not (break up)? How do males differ from females in what they regard as important? Is there any difference between the sexes in the (frequency of) fulfillment of such expectations? Is there any difference in various aspects of need fulfillment (like expectations, perceived frequency, and the resultant of an interplay between both) between those who break up and those who do not?
We posit that those who break up do so because/ when their partner fails to meet certain needs which are regarded as important and personally …show more content…

This research provides a meta-analytic examination of a wide range of predictors of nonmarital romantic relationship dissolution. Although a number of published empirical papers have investigated persistence in nonmarital relationships (e.g., those papers in the references marked with asterisks), much more work has examined marital stability. The recentHandbook of Divorce and Relationship Dissolution (Fine & Harvey, 2006) focuses almost exclusively on divorce, with little mention of nonmarital or dating relationship dissolution. However, nonmarital relationships are important in their own right (Cantor, Acker, & Cook-Flannagan, 1992) and often serve as a stepping-stone on the path toward marriage (Surra, Arizzi, & Asmussen, 1988). They impact well-being (Patrick, Knee,Canevello, & Lonsbary, 2007), emotions (Le& Agnew, 2001), and physical health (Powers, Pietromonaco, Gunlicks, & Sayer, 2006).The end of a nonmarital relationship is associated with negative effect (Sbarra, 2006) and cognitive changes (Lewandowski, Aron, Bassis, & Kunak, 2006), and may predict particularly negative outcomes such as suicide attempts (Donald, Dower, Correa-Velez, & Jones, …show more content…

A better understanding of what individuals expect, and lack of fulfillment in the certain dimensions/specific needs may therapeutic implications, especially for pre marital and couples therapy. Knowledge about importance attributions to specific needs and associated core values may help therapists to identify unspoken expectations and address specific gaps in need fulfillment bridging the gaps in the couple bonding towards a more fulfilling

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