Substituting the forest for the trees: Social networks and the prediction of romantic relationship state and fate

This research focused on perceptions held by heterosexual couples' friendsh ip network concerning the couple's relationship. In a three-wave longitudin al study, we examined (a) whether these perceptions were similar to the cou ple's views of the relationship, (b) whether they predicted current relatio nship state and future fate, and (c) how they compared with the couple's pe rceptions in predicting fate. Consistent with within-dyad idealization, res ults from a North American sample indicated that network perceptions of rel ationship state were significantly more negative than those held by a coupl e. Although both the couples' and the total networks' perceptions predicted fate, friends of the female couple member were particularly successful at predicting relationship dissolution. An examination of possible mechanisms whereby friends may come to possess particularly predictive perceptions sup ported the role of couple-disclosure in this process.