A pitfall in a "one and only" relationship: Two processes involving cooperative and uncooperative orientation of romantic partners

Abstract

Romantic partners often consider their relationship to be distinct from their other relationships. Moreover, it has been shown that this perceived distinctiveness promotes cooperative orientation while individually suppressing uncooperative orientation. How does this perceived distinctiveness of romantic partners affect their adaptation? We conducted a panel survey on two hundred and eighty-five married and unmarried partners. Path analysis and supplemental analyses revealed the working of two independent processes. In one process, the more distinct romantic partners perceive their relationship to be, the more cooperative orientation they can have and the less they suffer violence at the hands of their partner. In the other process, it was found that the more distinct romantic partners perceive their relationship to be, the less uncooperative orientation they can have and the more they suffer violence at the hands of their partner. Further, from the results obtained from this study, we discuss the originality of this study and prevention policies related to domestic violence.