The Influence Of Attachment And Relationship Maintenance Strategies On The Commitment Of Long-distance Romantic Relationships

The concept of Long Distance Romantic Relationships(LDRRs)is proposed against the Proximal Romantic Relationships(PRR),referring to couples who choose to live apart.With the rapid development of China's economy,more than a half of young people choose to live apart from their partners for their own career and development.The distance will obviously bring many obstacles to the romantic relationship,but there is no significant difference in the break-up rate between LDRRs and PRRs.This study expects to explore the differences in attachment,perceived relationship maintenance strategies,and commitment between LDRRs and PRRs through quantitative research,and to explore the relationship among them to enrich the research about LDRRs.This study aims to further study the maintenance of long-distance romantic relationships through qualitative research at the same time,providing valuable practical advice for LDRRs and clinical counselors.This study uses a combination method of quantitative and qualitative research.First of all,716 subjects in love are involved in the quantitative research.The Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory(ECR),Relational Maintenance Strategy Measure(RMSM),and the commitment dimension of the Investment Model Scale(IMS)were used to to investigate the attachment style,relational maintenance strategies and commitment of couples.The qualitative research was conducted at the same time: 10 interviewees were interviewed and the interview materials was coded and analyzed based on Grounded Theory to further explore the process of maintaining the a long-distance romantic relationship.The study conclusions are as follows:1.The openness,social networking and task sharing strategies used by LDRRs are significantly lower than those in PRRs,and there is no significant difference between LDRRs and PRRs on commitment;2.There is a significant positive correlation between the individual's commitment to the relationship and the perceived relationship maintenance strategies.The attachment avoidance and anxiety levels are negatively correlated to the commitment.3.In LDRRs,the attachment style affects the commitment by perceived positive,openness,and assurance strategies;while in PRRs,the perceived positivity,assurance,and task-sharing strategies affect the relationships between attachment style and commitment.4.The basis of the relationships,the cognition of separation and the actions to maintain relationships have important implications for maintaining a long-distance romantic relationship.On the one hand,the basis of the relationships and the cognition of separation have promoted the individual's actions to maintain the relationship.On the other hand,these three have jointly influenced the commitment of long-distance romantic relationships.