What's Love Got to Do with it? Close Relationships and Perceived Growth

Abstract

This study examined whether relationship characteristics predict increased perceptions of growth. Partners from 301 dating couples each rated how much supportive assistance they received, their love for their partners, how much they became closer to their ideals, and how much closer their partners became to the partners' ideals. After 5 months, 184 women and 138 men again rated how much they and their partners became closer to their ideals. Time 1 ratings of becoming closer to ideals were partialed from Time 2 ratings; the partner's love and the individual's perceptions of assistance were used (separately) to predict the increase in becoming closer to ideals (growth). As hypothesized, the more the partner loved the individual, the more growth each partner reported for the individual. Also, the more assistance the individual received, the more growth both partners reported that the men experienced and the more growth women reported experiencing.