Link Between Relationship Satisfaction and Life Priorities

Presenter (s)

Amal Sharafkhodjaeva, Rohit Paruchuri

Abstract or Description

A strong sense of purpose in life (e.g. life goals) is shown to relate to increases in mental health, overall well-being, and cognitive functioning (Hooker and Masters, 2016). Purpose can be viewed in part as a set of relatively stable far-reaching goals that are meaningful to an individual (Damon, Menon, and Bronk, 2003). Life goals directly influence the behavioral actions and cognitions of the individual as they relate to obtaining the desired states they seek to obtain, maintain, or avoid (Nair, 2003). These life goals may include a promotion an employer (career), raising children (family), or improving sports performance (hobby) (Pervin, 2015). The extent to which an individual prioritizes these goals helps define their purpose and greatly impacts how they interact with their physical and social environments. While personal goals are important to individual well-being, shared goals are important for couples (e.g. marriage/significant partners). Previous research suggests a marriage is viewed as more satisfactory for people who share goals, while dissimilarity in goals is related to increases in divorce (Becker, 2013). Satisfaction in relationships is also related to value orientations (Caspi et al., 1992) and lifestyles (Becker & Lois, 2010). Additionally, perceived support for personal goals and collective efficacy for goals increases marital satisfaction (Kaplan and Maddux, 2002). This study investigates connections between life goals, individual well-being, and relationship satisfaction. This research will explore how both platonic and significant partners prioritize life goals across 7 domains: career, social life, immediate family values, hobbies and interests, religion and spirituality, healthy life choices, and forming personal romantic relationships. Additionally, we will examine relationship satisfaction and priority rankings between paired participants (platonic and significant) using the Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI) (Funk & Rogge, 2007). Additionally, participants will be asked to rank their life goals within and across the 7s domains. Comparisons will be made between paired couples to examine the extent of similarity in life-goal prioritization and their relationship satisfaction. In order to investigate the relationship satisfaction within a couple, individual responses will be paired with a unique identifier for their platonic or significant partner. For data analysis, this procedure will allow us to match a couple’s responses and compare individual life goal ranking and relationship satisfaction level.  We hypothesize that life goal priority will influence relationship satisfaction in both platonic and significant relationships. We predict that partners with similar life-goal rankings will have higher relationship satisfaction levels.