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Romantic relationships as shared reality defense.

Sandra L Murray1, Veronica Lamarche2, Mark D Seery1

  • 1University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA.

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Relationships help maintain life's meaning by affirming the expected, whether in the relationship or the wider world, to buffer against unexpected events. This meaning maintenance model supports relationship satisfaction and psychological well-being.

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Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Relationship Science
  • Meaning Maintenance

Background:

  • Life events can threaten individuals' shared systems of meaning.
  • Relationships play a crucial role in psychological regulation and well-being.
  • Existing models lack a comprehensive explanation for how relationships buffer meaning threats.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose and elaborate on a model of meaning maintenance in relationships.
  • To explain how relationships function to regulate threats to shared meaning.
  • To review evidence supporting the model's tenets.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical model development.
  • Review of empirical evidence from relationship satisfaction studies.
  • Analysis of coping mechanisms for unexpected life events.

Main Results:

  • Individuals flexibly compensate for external meaning threats by affirming their relationships.
  • Individuals compensate for relationship-specific meaning threats by affirming the external world.
  • Relationship satisfaction is linked to the ability to flexibly maintain life's meaning.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed model offers a framework for understanding relationship functions in meaning regulation.
  • Relationship dynamics are integral to navigating life's uncertainties and maintaining psychological stability.
  • Flexible meaning maintenance strategies within relationships contribute to overall well-being.