Companionship goals and marital goal concordance contribute to relationship satisfaction partly through dyadic coping in dating couples

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Marital goals reflect individuals’ understanding of the purpose of marriage and could influence the dyadic interactions and satisfaction in intimate relationships. The current study examines how each partner’s marital goals and the concordance of marital goals between the partners influence dating couples’ relationship satisfaction through dyadic coping. Method The sample consisted of 200 heterosexual dating couples from Hong Kong. Both partners completed a survey that assessed three types of marital goals, dyadic coping, relationship satisfaction, and other background variables. Path analysis was conducted to estimate the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) with each partner’s three types of marital goals and marital goal concordance between the two partners as the predictors, each partner’s dyadic coping as the mediators, and each partner’s relationship satisfaction as the outcomes. Results Women’s dyadic coping significantly mediated the effects of women’s companionship goals and marital goal concordance on both partners’ marital satisfaction. Meanwhile, men’s dyadic coping significantly mediated the effects of men’s companionship goals and marital goal concordance on their own relationship satisfaction. Conclusion The current study offered the first evidence supporting the importance of marital goals, the goal concordance between the partners, and dyadic coping in dating relationships.