Relationship theories and relationship violence

Abstract

Franiuk and colleagues (2002) distinguished between two implicit theories of relationships (ITRs)—a soulmate theory and a work-it-out theory. The soulmate theory reflects beliefs that finding the right person is important for relationship success while the work-it-out theory reflects beliefs that relationships take effort to be successful. The current research explores the association between the ITRs and relationship violence. Surveying an older sample than a traditional college sample ( N = 143), the ITRs interacted with partner fit and relationship length to predict relationship violence. As predicted, for those with poor partner fit, the soulmate theory was associated with low violence early in relationships, but the soulmate theory lost some of its protective benefits in longer relationships.