| With the rapid changes in the social division of labor and the rapid rise of mass media,people have more opportunities and ways to establish and maintain cross-sex friendships.Significant others including cross-sex friends and romantic partners play a crucial role in an individual social adaptation and psychological well-being.The need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends and romantic partners will promote individual well-being.But because of the widespread attractiveness and romantic desire in cross-sex relationships that cross-sex friends may become an alternative to romantic relationships.So the need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends may undermine the individual original expectations of their romantic relationships,and then reduce the romantic relationship quality.Therefore,the issue of how to appropriately deal with romantic relationships and cross-sex friendships has become increasingly prominent.Based on this,two studies are conducted to examine the impact of need fulfillment given by the cross-sex on romantic relationship quality and its internal psychological mechanisms.To further explore if romantic partners can fully meet the needs of the individual,at the same time,individuals actively establish and maintain the platonic cross-sex friendship,whether this negative influence can be weakened.In study 1,a cross-sectional design was adopted to conduct a questionnaire survey on 306 unmarried people in a romantic relationship to explore the influence of need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends on romantic satisfaction,as well as the mediating role of perceived quality of cross-sex relationships and the moderating role of need fulfillment given by romantic partners.In study 2,98 unmarried people in romantic relationships were investigated by a short-term prospective study,and each sample was measured weekly within a month(once a week,four times in total).In order to repeatedly test whether the results of Study 1 are consistent across time,and explore the role of individual romantic desire for cross-sex friends in the whole model.The findings indicate that:(1)Need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends significantly negatively predicted romantic relationship quality.(2)The relationship between need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends and romantic relationship quality was mediated by the perceived quality of cross-sex relationships.(3)Need fulfillment given by romantic partner played a moderating role in the relationship between need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends and perceived quality of cross-sex relationships and romantic relationship quality.With the improvement of the level of need fulfillment given by romantic partners,the positive predictive effect of need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends on the perceived quality of cross-sex relationships is gradually weakened,and the negative predictive effect on the quality of romantic relationships is gradually weakened.(4)The romantic desire plays a moderating role between the perceived quality of cross-sex relationships and romantic relationship quality.With the decrease of individual romantic desire for cross-sex friends,the negative predictive effect of the perceived quality of cross-sex relationships on the romantic relationship quality is gradually weakened.This study attempts to apply the alternative correlation principle provided by the Interdependence Theory and Investment Model to explore the negative predictive effect of need fulfillment given by cross-sex friends on the romantic relationship quality and the mediating role of perceived quality of cross-sex relationships.It is further found that with the improvement of the level of need fulfillment given by romantic partners and the decrease of individual romantic desire for cross-sex friends,this negative effect will be weakened.It provides practical guidance for people in love to get double benefits from cross-sex friendships and romantic relationships. |
