Missing you maintains us: Missing a romantic partner, commitment, relationship maintenance, and physical infidelity

Abstract

Working from the perspective of interdependence theory and models of relationship maintenance, this study examined the functional role of missing a romantic partner during a brief geographic separation. Eighty-eight undergraduate students involved in romantic relationships completed a measure of commitment prior to separation, and measures of missing a romantic partner, relationship maintenance, and physical infidelity during their winter break. Commitment was associated with participants’ self-reports of missing their romantic partners. Further, commitment predicted participants’ use of relationship maintenance strategies (i.e., positivity, openness, and assurances) and physical infidelity during the separation. These associations were mediated by how much participants missed their romantic partners. Findings are discussed in terms of interdependence theory and the growing literature on geographic distance between relationship partners.