Commitment — An Overlooked Variable in Marital Adjustment?

Abstract

conviction, the senior author proposed that personal commitment to one's marriage be explored as a possible factor in marital success. A search of 27 leading texts in marriage and the family failed to turn up a single instance of commitment even being mentioned as a potential variable in marital success. This study, then, represents an attempt to help account for those succeeding in marriage who shouldn't or those failing to succeed when they should according to marriage prediction scores (Burgess, Locke, Thomes, 1971). Logically, Waller's (1951) principle of least interest might be considered the obverse of commitment, though the implicit suggestion of a positive force has not been exploited. Theoretically, it would seem that commitment in marital success might well be included under Levinger's (1965) Sources of Attraction rubric. In his social systems analysis of family cohesion, he cited several studies which indicated that among the centripetal forces in marital relationships were esteem for spouse and desire for companionship. Commitment, theoretically, would strengthen the internal cohesion of the group. Commitment, for the purposes of this investigation, was defined as the strength of an individual's desire and determination to continue a

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• Pennsylvania State University US
• Iowa State University US

Related Publications