It's my partner, deal with it: Rejection sensitivity, normative beliefs, and commitment

Besikci E., Agnew C. R., Yildirim A.

Personal Relationships, vol.23, no.3, pp.384-395, 2016 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 23 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2016
  • Doi Number: 10.1111/pere.12131
  • Journal Name: Personal Relationships
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.384-395
  • Uşak University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Past research has shown that normative beliefs, or perceptions of (dis)approval from social network members regarding one's romance, significantly predict relationship commitment. We investigated sensitivity to rejection as a moderator of the normative beliefs–commitment association. We tested and found support for the moderating effect of rejection sensitivity (RS; Study 1) and sensitivity specific to rejection of one's current romantic partner (Study 2) on the normative beliefs–commitment link. The link was significantly stronger for people with lower levels of RS: People who were less sensitive to rejection indicated lower levels of commitment when they perceived less network approval for their relationship. In contrast, people with higher levels of RS indicated higher levels of commitment in the face of less perceived network approval.