Romantic Love Communication: Examination of Equity and Effects on Relational, Sexual, and Communication Satisfaction A dissertation submitted to the College of Communication and Information of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Michele L. Williams May 2012 Dissertation written by Michele L. Williams B.A., Malone University, 1992 M.A., Malone University, 1997 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2012 Approved by ________________________________________________________________________ Nichole Egbert, Ph.D., Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________________________________________________________________________ Mei-Chen Lin, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________________________________________________________________________ Jeffrey Child, Ph.D., Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________________________________________________________________________ Kristen Mickelson, Ph.D., Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Accepted by ________________________________________________________________________ Paul Haridakis, Ph.D., Director, School of Communication Studies ________________________________________________________________________ Stanley Wearden, Ph.D., Dean, College of Communication and Information TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Introduction to the Study……………………………………………………………..…1 Statement of Problem………....…………………………………………..…… 1 Purpose of Study…..……………..….......……………………..……..……….. 9 Significance of Study .……………..……...…………………………………..10 II. Literature Review………………………………………………..……………………11 Conceptualization of Romantic Love……………………………………………11 Historical Foundation…………………………………………………….12 Caritas Synthesis………...………………………………………12 Biological Approach……...……………………………………..13 Sociological Approach…….…………………………………….14 Modern Conceptualizations of Love……………………………………..15 Lee’s Love Styles………………………………………………..15 Z Rubin’s Love vs. Liking……………………………………....15 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love…………………………16 Marston’s Ways of Loving……………………………………...17 Key Constructs of Romantic Love………………………………………17 Intimacy…………………………………………………………18 Passion………………………………………………………….18 Communication of Romantic Love…………………………………….………...20 Intimacy ………………………………………………………...……… 20 Verbal Communication ………………………………….…..…. 21 Kinesics ………………………………………………….…..…. 23 Time Together …………………………………………..….…... 24 Emotional Support ……………………………………..………. 26 Affectionate Touch …………………………………….….…… 27 Passionate Communication ……………………………….……….…… 30 iii Romantic Gestures ……………………………….………….…. 31 Sexual Touch ………………………………………….….…… 33 Equity Theory……………………………………………………………………36 Equity Theory Propositions………………………………………….…..38 Criticisms against applying Equity Theory to intimate relationships…....41 Support for applying Equity Theory to intimate relationships…………..43 Application of Equity Theory to relationship maintenance………….…..48 Satisfaction……………………………………………………………………….52 Intimacy and Passion……………………………………………….…...53 Romantic Love Communication Behaviors…….....…....…….…….…..55 Intimacy……………………….…………………………….…...55 Verbal Communication and Satisfaction…………...…...55 Time Together and Satisfaction……………...…………..58 Emotional Support and Satisfaction…………..…………59 Affectionate Touch and Satisfaction………..…………...59 Passion…….……………………………………………….……60 Romantic Gestures and Satisfaction………..…………....60 Sexual Touch and Satisfaction……………..……………61 Equity and Satisfaction…………………….…………………………….66 III. Research Design and Methodology…..…………………...…………………………72 Pilot Study…………………………………………………………………..…...73 Sample and population……..…………………………..……………..….73 Data collection procedures………………………………………….……75 Instrument………………………………………………………………..76 Romantic love communication………………..…………………76 Results……………………………………………………………………76 Data analysis…………………………………………….……….76 Study 1…………………..……………………………………………….………79 Sample and population…………………………………………………….79 iv Data collection procedures……….….........……………………….………82 Instruments…..…………………………………………………….………83 Romantic love communication…………………………………..83 Equity…...……………………………………………………….84 Relational equity…………………………………………84 Romantic love communication behavior equity…………85 Relational satisfaction….....….....……………………………….86 Sexual satisfaction………………………………………….……87 Communication satisfaction………………………….…………..87 Data analysis…….…………………………………………….………….88 IV. Results……………………………………………………………………………….99 Relational Equity as predictor of Romantic Love Communication Behavior Use.....…………………………………………………………………..…….102 Romantic Love Communication Behavior Use as predictor of Satisfaction….105 Relational Satisfaction………………………………………………..109 Sexual Satisfaction……........…………………………………………109 Communication Satisfaction………………………………………….110 Romantic Love Communication Behavior Equity as predictor of Satisfaction........................................................................................................111 Relational Satisfaction………………………………………………..113 Sexual Satisfaction……………..…………………………………….113 Communication Satisfaction…………………………………………114 V. Discussion...................................................................................................................115 Pilot Study………………………………………………………………………115 Study 1……………………………………………………………………….....115 Relational Equity and Romantic Love Communication Behavior Use..116 Romantic Love Communication Behavior Use and Satisfaction............120 Romantic Love Communication Behavior Equity and Satisfaction........124 Limitations………………………………………………………………...……130 v Future Directions……………………………………………………………….133 APPENDICES Appendix A: Romantic Love Communication Scale...............................138 Appendix B: Hatfield Global Measure of Equity Sprecher Global Measure of Equity………….…………..142 Appendix C: Modified Hatfield Global Measure of Equity Modified Sprecher Global Measure of Equity…….……..143 Appendix D: Quality Marital Scale…………………………………….144 Appendix E: Scale of Sexual Satisfaction……………………………...145 Appendix F: Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Inventory……146 Appendix G: Inter-Item Correlation Matrix for Spouse’s Use................147 Appendix H: Inter-Item Correlation Matrix for Individual’s Use...........161 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………175 vi TABLES Table 1 Question #1: Categories Derived from Open Coding……….......................…….…….. ...... 78 2 Descriptive Statistics for Demographic Variables…………….....................……...…… ...... 81 3 Final Factor Loadings for Retained Romantic Love Communication Behaviors (RLCB): Partner’s Use……………………….….................…..................... ........................................ 91 4 Final Factor Loadings for Retained Romantic Love Communication Behaviors (RLCB): Individual’s Use……………………....….................………......… ....................................... 94 5 Descriptive Statistics for Continuous Variables…………….….................…….……. ....... 100 6 Correlations between all Predictor and Criterion Variables…...................…..………. ....... 101 7 Predictors of Romantic Love Communication Behavior Use…......................…....…. ....... 103 8 Predictors of Relational Satisfaction........................................................................ ............ 106 9 Predictors of Sexual Satisfaction............................................................................. ............. 107 10 Predictors of Communication Satisfaction............................................................... ............ 108 11 Significant Predictors of Satisfaction............................................................... ................... 112 vii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my husband who has provided support, encouragement, and patience as I pursued my doctorate degree. I would also like to thank my parents who instilled in me the importance of education. Finally, I would like to thank my advisors and committee members for providing direction for this study. viii 1 Chapter I Introduction to the Study Statement of Problem Strong communication skills are central to sustaining satisfying romantic relationships. Many couples are not satisfied, and, therefore, are always searching for ways to communicate better as evidenced by the number of magazine articles, books, and marriage seminars devoted to the topic, as well as the hundreds of thousands of couples who seek marriage counseling every year (Gilbert, 2005). According to Parrott and Parrott (2004), psychologist and marriage and family therapist respectively, the most common problem couples experience is a breakdown in communication. When communication is not effective, satisfaction declines. “Communication, more than any other aspect of your relationship, can either buoy relational intimacy or be the deadweight of its demise” (p. 30). Several scholars have provided support for the idea that poor communication skills precede dissatisfaction (Markman, 1981; Markman, Duncan, Storaasli, & Howes, 1987). Because dissatisfying relationships are distressing, many individuals seek dissolution to the relationship. Although divorce rates have steadily declined since the 1980’s when they peaked at 53%, divorce still remains a significant problem today. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: National Vital Statistics Report (2007), the provisional estimate of divorces for the year 2007 from the National Center for Health Statistics was projected to be 36%. According to the Americans for 2 Divorce Reform website (2005, para. 4), one of the most common reasons for divorce is poor communication, once again