Relationship Stability and Relationship Satisfaction in Cohabiting Gay and Lesbian Couples: A Prospective Longitudinal Test of the Contextual and Interdependence Models

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which variables from the contextual model (personality traits indicative of general interpersonal competence) and variables from the interdependence model (perceived rewards from, costs to, satisfaction with, alternatives to and investments in the relationship) predicted relationship stability and linear changes in relationship satisfaction in a sample of cohabiting gay and lesbian couples assessed annually over a 4-year period. Findings were similar for gay and for lesbian couples. Demographic variables, contextual variables and interdependence variables discriminated between partners whose relationship dissolved (n = 22) and those whose relationships remained intact over the 4-year period (n = 92). Linear changes in the contextual and interdependence variables over the 4-year period predicted linear changes in the relationship satisfaction of intact couples over this same period. In analyses of both relationship stability and relationship satisfaction, variables from the interdependence model were found to mediate the effects of the contextual variables. The findings are interpreted in a framework that integrates contextual and interdependence models of relationship quality.