Are Long-Distance Relationships Successful - Research Paper Example

Are Long-Distance Relationships Successful? Abstract Long-distance relationships are common, as people often need to live in different places for a period of time, especially in the case of university study. It is generally assumed that long-distance relationships are less strong and do not succeed as often as geographically close couples due to the unique stresses that the distance can place on the individuals. However, there are some positive factors to long distance relationships as they allow the partners greater autonomy, more time to develop individually as well as the development of greater appreciation towards ones partner. This study aims to use a quantitative survey on university students to test whether the success of long-distance relationships is the same as that between students in a geographically similar location. Introduction For humans, romantic relationships form an essential component of emotional development and meeting emotional needs. A healthy relationship can help a person to develop a sense of self and of loving and caring for another person. Within romantic relationships, there are often periods where the partners become geographically separated. This results in a long-distance relationship (LDR), where the couple attempts to maintain their emotional closeness despite the physical distance . Long-distance relationships are a form of relationship that is becoming more common for a variety of reasons. For couples where one or both individuals are studying at university between 25 percent and one-third of the relationships are long distance . Additionally, LDRs can form through sources such as internet dating sites where the couple has not met and continue their relationship for some time without meeting. Consequently, the types of LDRs vary, with some couples having periodic face-to-face interaction, while others have none . Long-distance relationships differ substantially from normal relationships for a number of reasons. The separation from ones partner can create psychological stresses; these vary depending on the strength of the relationship between the two individuals and the ability to adapt. In a long-distance relationship, both partners have much more time to themselves, less communication and substantially less physical contact than a couple who is not geographically separated. There is the risk that while separated by distance, the partners in the relationship become somewhat idealized, and see only the best side of each other. Research indicates that couples that have a long-distance relationship are restricted in the communication that they are able to have, and tend to be more idealized about their partner than couples that are not separated by distance . This can result in significant disillusion or disappointment when the partners reunite which may eventually result in the dissolution of the relationship. There are a number of ways in which a LDR may be less stable than couple who are close geographically. A study examining LDRs and reunions found that although LDRs were significantly more stable than relationships where the partners were not separated. However, partners who were in a LDR were likely to dissolve the relationship on their reunion . This indicates that the LDR creates a relationship that is not resilient to change. Around half of all LDRs experience the transition from long-distance to close proximity, while the other half choose to end their relationship during the long-distance period. Of those relationships where individuals did reunite, a third terminated the relationship within three months of the reunion. Reasons given for ending the relationship included the loss of the novelty and autonomy that partners experienced during the LDR . A comparison of LDRs and relationships that were not long distance found that people not in a LDR were more confident that the relationship would last. For both groups the primary predictor of whether the relationship would last was the satisfaction that each partner had . Couples in a LDR who have some face-to-face interaction do not report any more uncertainty about their relationship than couples in close proximity. However, LDR couples who did not have face-to-face interaction were significantly more uncertain about their relationships . While there is often a stigma associated with LDRs, not all the effects of such a relationship are negative. Research suggests that couples in a long distance relationship tend not to take each other for granted as often as closer couples, and develop stronger connections as they have to rely on non-traditional means of communication. Because communication between partners in a LDR is less frequent than a normal relationship, there is an increased tendency for them to talk about their future and how their relationship is at present . The physical separation that is present within a LDR gives the individuals a chance to discover their own identity and to examine the relationship from different perspectives. They have much more time on their own than a similar couple who are not geographically separated. Many studies have found associations between the amount of time that couples spend together and their satisfaction. This has led to the conclusion that people involved in an LDR are likely to have lower satisfaction than those not geographically separated. However, experiments examining the direction of this relationship have found that increasing the time that couples spend together does not increase satisfaction . As the time that couples are spending together does not have a direct effect on satisfaction, this indicates that LDRs may be an effective means of having a relationship. Modern technology has the potential to facilitate LDRs, reducing some of the associated stresses. For example, free computer-to-computer voice and video calling is relatively commonplace. Likewise, many mobile phone companies offer good rates on calls. The ability to keep in contact easily can make long-distance relationships easier to maintain, as the distance is the two individuals is not felt as strongly when communication is frequent. As can be seen from the literature, LDRs are a common form of relationship that comes with its own benefits and hardships. The aim of this study is to examine whether LDRs succeed, and what their success rate is compared to relationships within the same geographic area. This research will be questionnaire based and make use students at university as the sample group. Methods The research question for this investigation is: Are long-distance relationships more successful than non-long distance relationships? The aims of this study are: To determine whether long-distance relationships have a different success rate than non long-distance relationships To determine what difference having face-to-face contact has on a long-distance relationship To evaluate the prevalence of long-distance relationships and non long-distance relationships among university students To examine several different measures of relationship success, including length of relationship, satisfaction and whether the relationship is still ongoing Participants Participants for the study will be university students who have been in at least one serious relationship during their time studying. Students from a total of three separate universities will be used for the study. They will be contacted through student email as well as through flyers posted around the campus. Students wishing to participate in the study will be directed to a website containing the survey, which should take less than half an hour to complete. All students who attend the university will be able to respond to the questionnaire although the flyers and emails will ask for students who have been in a serious relationship within the last three years. Measures For this study, only relationships of more than three months will be considered. Respondents will be asked for details of their most recent relationship that was more than three months in length. Questions will be given to the participants in the form of multiple-choice questions, where a single answer is chosen for each of the questions. The specific focus of the study is whether relationships are ‘successful’. Several different measures of success will be used in the survey, and the differences in these responses will be analyzed across the different types of relationships. Procedure This study will involve the use of a 20-30 question survey, which will be distributed to students at three different universities. The questions will be multiple choice, which allows for quantitative analysis of the results. Questions for the study will be broken down into multiple sections, which are detailed below, with examples of the types of questions that will be involved. Section One: Demographic information What is your age group? What is your gender? Have you been in a serious relationship within the last three years? Section Two: Most recent serious relationship Was the relationship long-distance? If the relationship was long-distance, did you have regular face-to-face contact? How long did the relationship last? During the relationship, were you content/satisfied? Do you consider that the relationship was worthwhile? What was the cause of your breakup? Section Three: Meeting up after a long-distance relationship On meeting your partner after significant time apart, were things as you expected? If not, what was different? After approximately two weeks, the information gathered from the questionnaires will be collated into a data file, which will allow the data to be analyzed. Data Analysis Data analysis will predominantly make use of paired t-tests to test for differences between long-distance and non long-distance relationships. In some cases, if there is enough data for each category, an ANOVA test will be used to test for statistical differences between long-distance relationships with face-to-face interaction, without face-to-face interaction and non-long distance relationships. The total number of positive responses (i.e. where the student was pleased with the relationship) will be collated for each type of relationship and the data will be analyzed to determine whether this differs significantly between relationship types. Validity and Limitations The information gathered from the survey and the subsequent data analysis will allow the aims of the study to be met, and the overall question of how long distance relationships succeed compared to non long-distance relationships to be answered. One limitation of this study is that it focuses only on students at university. The reason for this selection is that studies have shown that long-distance relationships are common as a result of the style of university life and the need to remain on or near campus. Thus, the results determined from this study are mostly applicable to this age group, and it will be difficult to fully extrapolate from this to the wider population. References Dainton, M., & Aylor, B. (2001). A relational uncertainty analysis of jealousy, trust, and maintenance in long‐distance versus geographically close relationships. Communication Quarterly, 49, 172-188. Dainton, M., & Aylor, B. (2002). Patterns of communication channel use in the maintenance of long‐distance relationships. Communication Research Reports, 19, 118-129. Guldner, G. T. (1996). Long-Distance Romantic Relationships: Prevalence and Separation-Related Symptoms in College Students. Journal of College Student Development, 37, 289-296. Guldner, G. T., & Swensen, C. H. (1995). Time spent together and relationship quality: Long-distance relationships as a test case. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12, 313-320. Horn, K., Arnone, A., Nesbitt, K., Desllets, L., Sears, T., Giffin, M., & Brudi, R. (1997). Physical distance and interpersonal characteristics in college students' romantic relationships. Network, 4, 25-34. Mietzner, S., & Li-Wen, L. (2005). Would You Do It Again? Relationship Skills Gained in a Long-Distance Relationship. College Student Journal, 39, 192-200. Stafford, L., & Merolla, A. J. (2007). Idealization, reunions, and stability in long-distance dating relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24, 37-54. Stafford, L., Merolla, A. J., & Castle, J. D. (2006). When long-distance dating partners become geographically close. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 23, 901-919. Stafford, L., & Reske, J. R. (1990). Idealization and communication in long-distance premarital relationships. Family Relations, 274-279.  Read More