1. Running head: EXCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIP 1
Finding the Importance of Exclusive Relationships
Sherri Wielgos
San Diego State University
Jonathan Hussey
2. EXCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIP 2
Abstract
The development of relationships in college is a growing interest due to the changes in
attitudes and perspectives that take place between entering into college and graduation. In
order to examine these perspectives an online survey was distributed to students at a large
university that asked questions surrounding the types of relationships they have been
involved in and what has shaped their perspectives on those relationships. It was
hypothesized that they would be a gender difference on the importance of exclusive
relationships as well as an increased importance of exclusive relationships if participants
reported being close with a sibling(s). The results showed a difference in relationships
between genders, however, there was not a relationship between sibling closeness and
importance of exclusive relationship. Given this is true, men have a different attitude towards
wanting an exclusive relationship than women in college. Future research could investigate
longitudinally the changes in individuals from freshmen to senior year. Overall, there still
remains more examination in the development of relationships in early adulthood.
3. EXCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIP 3
Today’s culture is represented drastically different from that of previous generations
when it comes to committed relationships. Only 60 years ago people were getting engaged
and married shortly after high school. Now with the rise in students attending four-year
universities and more career drive young adults, more individuals wait to be in committed
relationships during the collegiate careers.
Schindler, Fagundes & Murdock (2010), examined prior dating success as well as the
desire to form a committed relationship mainly predicted the transition from not dating to
casual or committed dating. The research was conducted over an eight-month span with
weekly to monthly survey questionnaires at a university. Gender differences were measured
without much significance, however, in the current study it was hypothesized that women
will report more agreement with the statement “it is important for me to be in an exclusive
relationship” than men. It is necessary to more clearly examine the variable of gender
differences to find a significant difference between two groups on their perspectives of
“desire to form a committed relationship” (Schindler et. al., 2010).
Additional research on the role of family closeness and the relationship it had with
views of adolescent shame and guilt was conducted Walter and Bunaford, (2006). Intake and
questionnaires were give to groups of 8th, 10th and first year college students. Results showed
that family closeness with both parents and siblings were related with feelings of guilt. Also,
for girls shame was not correlated with closeness to parents but was correlated to closeness
with siblings. Thus, it was concluded that “closeness to siblings is important in adolescent’s
proneness to self-conscious emotions (Walter et al., 2006). The role of sibling closeness and
its possible influences on other relationships has very little previous research in the field. The
prior research showed a relationship between sibling closeness and self conscious emotions,
therefore the current study examined the possible relationship between sibling closeness and
perspectives on relationships. Thus, in the current study it was hypothesized that closeness
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with a sibling(s) would be positively correlated with importance of exclusive relationship;
that the closer one feels with his or her sibling(s) the more they will report to agree with the
statement “it is important for me to be in an exclusive relationship,”.
In the current study that was conducted, it was important to study the differences
between females and males on the importance of exclusive relationships while in college as
well as the importance of exclusive relationships correlated with sibling closeness. The
variables of interested were sibling closeness, reporting closeness to one or more sibling and
importance of exclusive relationships measured by reporting agreement with the statement “it
is important for me to be in an exclusive relationship”. Participants were sent a survey link
online and asked to fill out answers on Qualtrics.
Methods
Participants
The average age of the participants were 21.05 (SD=2.62). There were 107 total
participants, 60 of them were male (56%) and 47 of them were female (44%). All participants
were attending San Diego State University, freshman represented 15 (14%), sophomores
represented 17 (16%), juniors represented 33 (31%) and seniors represented 42 (39%) the
total number of participants that completed the survey. Of the participants studied 106
reported having at least one sibling.
Materials
In the survey there were 11 demographic questions and 16 opinion questions.
Demographic questions consisted of age, “What is your age (in years)?” with a text entry
response. Opinion questions included importance of relationships, “It is important for me to
be in an exclusive relationship” response was on a five point scale from strongly disagree to
strongly agree.
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Procedure
The data collected in this study were through participant completion of an online
survey through Qualtrics. The survey was open for a two week period and invitations to the
survey were sent out through social media and email.
Results
It was hypothesized that women would report more agreement with the statement “it
is important for me to be in an exclusive relationship” than men. There was significance
found between the two groups of t(105)= -4.535, p< .001. Women reported higher levels of
importance for exclusive relationships (M=4.11, SD= 1. 41) than men (M=3.17, SD= .994) as
seen in Figure 1. Therefore, the original hypothesis was supported.
It was also hypothesized that closeness with sibling(s) would be positively correlated
with importance of exclusive relationship; that the closer one feels with his or her sibling(s)
the more they will report to agree with the statement “it is important for me to be in an
exclusive relationship”. There was not a significant relationship between sibling closeness
and importance of exclusive relationships r(103)=.011, p> .05. Therefore, the original
hypothesis was not supported.
Discussion
In the current study it was hypothesized that women will report more agreement with
the statement “it is important for me to be in an exclusive relationship” than men. This
hypothesis was supported. As explained in previous research done by Fagundes et. al. (2010),
women reported a higher value on being in a romantic relationship than men in early
adulthood. In a diverse sample it was evident that women have more attachment to exclusive
relationships. In the current study, it was proven with this sample of individuals that holds
true to the previous research in support of a gender difference. It could be explained by the
social expectations of men to experiment and be more socially and sexually promiscuous in
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early adulthood, especially in college. On the other hand, women are expected to be intimate
and exclusive with one person at a time. The socialization of gender encouraged differences
in how women and men are expected to act when it comes to relationships until into
adulthood and settling down.
The hypothesis was supported; however, certain limitations could have been factored
into the results. Many of the participants recorded that they were juniors and seniors, which
may have an effect of the results because the mindset of classes being more difficult and
having to enter the career world are more concrete than the first two years. There could be a
change of perspectives in both men and women from the entrance of college until after
graduation. In a future study, it would benefit from studying a sample from age 18 to 25
longitudinally to explain if the same results between genders are true. This would provide
more support for a gender difference on importance of being in an exclusive relationship.
In the current study it was also hypothesized that closeness with a sibling(s) will be
positively correlated with importance of exclusive relationships; that is the closer one feels
with his or her sibling(s) the more they will report to agree with the statement “it is important
for me to be in an exclusive relationship.” This hypothesis was not supported. Prior research
from Water et. al. (2006), explained the view of family closeness and specifically sibling
relationships affect on shame and guilt. It could have been possible that closeness to siblings
and birth order may have played more of a role than just sibling closeness alone. If the
individuals in the sample with older siblings that are in committed relationships or have been
in bad relationships in the past, and are close to them could account for higher ratings of
importance of exclusive relationships. It would then be explained that closeness with older
siblings that are role models would increase the influence on individuals’ perspectives on
being in an exclusive relationship. Likewise, if an individual had younger siblings that they
felt protective of, this may increase their view on importance of being in an exclusive
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relationship to be a role model for the younger sibling they are reported closeness to in the
study.
A limitation to the survey study is that there was not a question qualifying closeness
and how much they look up to or incorporate their older sibling’s values. There was also not
a question to determine if the participant felt an obligation to set an example for younger
siblings they consider to be close with even if social factors encouraged promiscuous
behavior. Future research could have additional questions to qualify the sample. A question
on a five-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree, “I feel an obligation to
be role model for my sibling(s) in the way I conduct my romantic relationships” or “ I try to
incorporate the values of my sibling(s)”. This would narrow a sample to thoroughly
understand the correlation between sibling closeness and importance of being in an exclusive
relationship.
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References
Schindler, I., Fagundes, C. P., & Murdock, K. W. (2010). Predictors of romantic relationship
formation: Attachment style, prior relationships, and dating goals. Personal
Relationships, 17(1), 97-105. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01255.x
Walter, J. L., & Burnaford, S. M. (2006). Developmental Changes in Adolescents' Guilt and
Shame: The Role of Family Climate and Gender. North American Journal Of
Psychology, 8(2), 321-338.
