Definition
Relationship satisfaction is the most researched aspect in the study of couple relationships. Very broadly, it refers to a person’s overall evaluation of his or her relationship. This may entail, for example, the degree to which one’s needs and desires for love, support, and security or one’s expectations are met. Researchers are far from consensus regarding relationship satisfaction’s conceptualization. While some have advocated a unidimensional view of global relationship satisfaction, other researchers have called for multidimensional views (such as multiple satisfactions with different aspects of the relationship or different components of relationship quality). This is also mirrored in the variety of satisfaction measures employed in the study of couple relationships.
Introduction
Humans are characterized by a fundamental need to belong (Leary and Baumeister
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Gerlach, T.M., Driebe, J.C., Reinhard, S.K. (2018). Personality and Romantic Relationship Satisfaction. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_718-1
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