Self-Expansion and Marital Commitment Among Married Medical Students: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Self-expansion theory suggests that individuals pursue personal growth by incorporating aspects of their romantic partners into their self-concept, which may enhance relational satisfaction and commitment. Although widely studied in Western contexts, the theory's applicability in non-Western, collectivist societies, remains underexplored. This study investigated the association between self-expansion and marital commitment among married medical students in Iran. Using a cross-sectional, correlational design, 133 participants (83 women, 50 men) from a medical university [Name Blinded] were selected through random sampling. Participants completed the Marital Commitment Dimensions Scale and the Self-Expansion Questionnaire. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and simple linear regression. Results showed significant positive correlations between self-expansion and total marital commitment (r = .35, p < .01), commitment to spouse (r = .43, p < .01), and commitment to marriage (r = .31, p < .01), but not with compulsive commitment. Regression analysis confirmed that self-expansion significantly predicted marital commitment (β = .352, R² = 0.124, p < .01). These findings extend the cross-cultural relevance of self-expansion theory and suggest that fostering growth-oriented experiences within marriage may strengthen commitment in young couples navigating personal and cultural transitions.

Keywords

self-expansion theory marital commitment relationship satisfaction medical students collectivist culture

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams, J. M., & Jones, W. H. (1997). The conceptualization of marital commitment: An integrative analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(5), 1177–1196. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022–3514.72.5.1177

Aron

E. N.

(1986). Love and the expansion of self: Understanding attraction and satisfaction. Hemisphere.

Aron

Norman

C. C.

Aron

E. N.

(1998). Self-expansion model and motivation. Representative Research in Social Psychology, 22, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470998557

Aron

Norman

Aron

McKenna

Heyman

(2000). Couples’ shared participation in novel and arousing activities and experienced relationship quality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(2), 273–284. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.273

Arriaga

X. B.

Agnew

C. R.

(2001). Being committed: Affective, cognitive, and conative components of relationship commitment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(9), 1190–1203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201279011

Asgari

Pasha

Azar Kish

(2011). Comparison of marital commitment, sexual satisfaction, and life satisfaction of housewives and working women (in Persian). Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, 6(21), 53–60.

Blow

A. J.

Hartnett

(2021). Infidelity in committed relationships II: A substantive review. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 47(2), 361–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2005.tb01556.x

Buunk

B. P.

Dijkstra

(2000). Extradyadic relationships and jealousy. In Hendrick

Hendrick

S. S.

(Eds), Close relationships: A sourcebook (pp. 317–329). Sage Publications. 10.4135/9781452220437.n23

Carswell

K. L.

Muise

Harasymchuk

Horne

R. M.

Visserman

M. L.

Impett

E. A.

(2021). Growing desire or growing apart? Consequences of personal self-expansion for romantic passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(2), 354–377. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000357

10.

Caselli

A. J.

Machia

L. V.

(2022). Discrimination is not just black and white in romantic relationships: A consideration of perspective taking and self-expansion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(4), 741–762. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000380

11.

Cohen

(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

12.

Dobson

Veeravalli

Gazder

Stanton

S. C.

(2023). Self-expansion perceptions and behaviors uniquely contribute to relationship quality over time. Journal of Family Psychology, 38(3), 484–494. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001188

13.

Đorđević

Vlajić

(2022). The self-expansion process and quality of romantic relationships. Facta Universitatis, Series: Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology and History, 21(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.22190/FUPSPH2201039D

14.

Faul

Erdfelder

Lang

A.-G.

Buchner

(2007). GPower 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146

15.

Finkel

E. J.

Hui

C. M.

Carswell

K. L.

Larson

G. M.

(2014). The suffocation of marriage: Climbing Mount Maslow without enough oxygen. Psychological Inquiry, 25(1), 1–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2014.863723

16.

Hsiao

Y. L.

(2004). Commitment to marital relationship: The case of American newlyweds. Euramerica, 33(4), 711–755. https://www.ea.sinica.edu.tw/eu_file/12014245404.pdf

17.

Lewandowski

G. W.

Ackerman

R. A.

(2006). Something’s missing: Need fulfillment and self-expansion as predictors of susceptibility to infidelity. The Journal of Social Psychology, 146(4), 389–403. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.146.4.389-403

18.

Lewandowski

G. W.

Jr. Aron

(2002, February). The self-expansion scale: Construction and validation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference, Savannah, GA.

19.

Muise

Harasymchuk

Day

L. C.

Bacev-Giles

Gere

Impett

(2019). Broadening your horizons: Self-expanding activities promote desire and satisfaction in established romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116(2), 237–258. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000148

20.

Rezaei

Ahmadi

Etamadi

Rezaei

(2012). The effect of Islam-based Roj therapy training on the marital commitment of couples. Psychology and Religion, 5(1), 37–60.

21.

Rhoades

G. K.

Stanley

S. M.

Markman

H. J.

(2010). Should I stay or should I go? Predicting dating relationship stability from four aspects of commitment. Journal of Family Psychology, 24(5), 543–550. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021008

22.

Robles, T. F., Slatcher, R. B., Trombello, J. M., & McGinn, M. M. (2014). Marital quality and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 140(1), 140–187. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031859

23.

Saxbe

D. E.

Beckes

Stoycos

S. A.

Coan

J. A.

(2019). Social allostasis and social allostatic load: A new model for research in social dynamics, emotion, and stress. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 5(2), 469–482. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619876528

24.

Shahsiah

(2009). On the relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital commitment among couples in Shahreza city, central part of Iran. Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health, 11(43), 233–238. https://doi.org/10.22038/JFMH.2009.1556

25.

Tang

C.-Y.

Curran

M. A.

(2013). Marital commitment and perceptions of fairness in household chores. Journal of Family Issues, 34(12), 1598–1622. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X12463185

26.

Treas

Giesen

(2000). Sexual infidelity among married and cohabiting Americans. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(1), 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00048.x