Abstract
Objective: The objective of the study is to examine the efficacy of relationship investment tactics in improving relationship satisfaction. Background: Physical and mental health are affected by the quality of the couple relationship. Accordingly, bolstering the couple relationship and enhancing relationship satisfaction is of crucial importance for both partners' well-being. Using relationship investment tactics may represent a behavioral solution for elevating the quality of the couple bond as well as their satisfaction from their relationship. Method: A cross-sectional research design was adopted. The associations between demographic characteristics, relationship investment tactics, and relationship satisfaction were tested using a path analysis. Results: Employing tactics of emotional gestures, material and instrumental gestures, giving space, and shared activities were found to be positively associated with relationship satisfaction. Using tactics of sex and self-beautification and helping the partner's family and friends did not entail heightened satisfaction. Conclusion: Relationships can be improved and transformed by employing relationship investment tactics described in this research report. Implications: The results indicate that behavioral tactics and patterns, which are easy, simple, and usually free, may be employed to enhance relationship satisfaction. Couple therapists may consider advising clients as to how to prevent relationship decline and helping clients when encountering relationship difficulties by employing these relationship investment tactics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1235-1247 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Family Relations |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2024 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 National Council on Family Relations.
Funding
All participants agreed to voluntarily participate in the study and signed consent forms. Each participant was given a brief explanation of the study's aims. All identifying information was omitted. The research study was approved by the institutional review board of the Academic College of Israel, approval serial number 2021–1001. Participants were 483 respondents recruited through social media as follows: The sampling method was snowball and convenience sampling, as the respondents agreed to answer an online questionnaire following an ad we posted on social media. Inclusion criteria were age above 18 and being involved in any kind of intimate couple relationship. Prior to the study, we did not have any relationship with the participants. Participants knew that the topic of the study was intimate couple relationships; they did not receive any compensation for participating in the study. Demographic information is presented in Table S1 in the supplemental materials. All participants agreed to voluntarily participate in the study and signed consent forms. Each participant was given a brief explanation of the study's aims. All identifying information was omitted. The research study was approved by the institutional review board of the Academic College of Israel, approval serial number 2021–1001. The Relationship Investment Tactics Scale (RITS; Bokek-Cohen & Halamish-Leshem, 2023) consists of 46 items that measure the frequency of usage of six relationship investment tactics (RITs) on a Likert-scale between 1 (never) and 6 (almost every day). Questions are provided in Appendix A in the supplemental materials. The scale items represent six different tactics: (a) emotional care and gestures (e.g., “I usually use affectionate nicknames for my partner”; α =.93, M = 4.94, SD = 0.92), (b) material gestures and pampering (e.g., “I usually buy gifts for my partner”; α =.86, M = 3.46, SD = 1.10), (c) giving one another space (e.g., “I usually allow my partner to go out with friends without me joining”; α =.83, M = 5.23, SD = 0.89), (d) investing in physical appearance and sex (e.g., “I tend to diversify my sexual activity with my partner”; α =.84, M = 4.46, SD = 1.06), (e) shared activities (e.g., “As a couple, we usually go on trips and vacations together”; α =.84, M = 4.12, SD = 1.07), and (f) third party (care and support for partner's friends and family; e.g., “I usually help my partner's family and friends”; α =.71, M = 4.78, SD = 0.97). Relationship satisfaction was assessed based on a three-item measure on a 6-point Likert scale (1 = not at all; 6 = very much) by the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (Schumm et al., 1990), with α =.96, M = 4.88, SD = 1.17.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Bokek-Cohen & Halamish-Leshem |
Keywords
- investment model
- relationship investment tactics
- relationship satisfaction
