Level of commitment, mutuality of commitment, and couple well-being

Interdependence theory identifies level of dependence and mutuality of depe ndence as two key properties of interdependent relationships. In ongoing re lationships, these structural properties are subjectively experienced in te rms of commitment-dependence level is experienced as greater or lesser comm itment level, and mutuality of dependence is experienced as greater or less er perceived mutuality in partners' commitment levels. We examined the asso ciations of these variables with couple well-being using data from two thre e-wave longitudinal studies. One study examined partners in dating relation ships and the second study examined partners in marital relationships. Cons istent with predictions, both level of commitment and perceived mutuality o f commitment accounted for unique variance in couple well-being: Couples ex hibited greater adjustment to the degree that the partners were highly comm itted to their relationship and to the degree that their commitment levels were mutual. Mediation analyses revealed that the association of mutuality of commitment with couple well-being is partially mediated by negative affe ct (e.g., anxiety, guilt) and partially to wholly mediated by trust level; perceived mutuality of power is not a reliable mediator of this association .