A longitudinal study of 129 graduating university students tested whether relationship continuity could best be predicted by a positive pull model, consisting of love and rewards, or a newly proposed barrier model, consisting of investments and commitment. The barrier model proved to be the best discriminator of whether relationships continued past graduation. Validity of the barrier model was further supported by conceptual distinctions found between Love and Commitment scales and by evidence for the importance of investments to the development of commitment. The combination strategy of scale development and examination of relationships over time produced new scales of Investments and Commitment.
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