Need Fulfillment and Stay-Leave Behavior: On the Diagnosticity of Personal and Relational Needs

Need fulfillment has been found to be associated with numerous positive relationship outcomes, but its impact on stay-leave behavior is less clear. In the current study, we considered whether the fulfillment of different needs might differentially affect stay-leave behavior. We distinguished between needs that are personal in nature and those that are relational in nature. Central to our theoretical analysis is the interdependence-based contention that the fulfillment of different kinds of needs provides diagnostic information regarding a partner's motives and intentions regarding a relationship. Using two-wave longitudinal data obtained from romantically involved participants, we tested the relative fit of two alternative models that specified the associations between the fulfillment of different kinds of needs, commitment, and stay-leave behavior. Consistent with an interdependence approach, we found that the influence of the fulfillment of personal needs on stay-leave behavior was mediated by commitment, whereas the fulfillment of relational needs directly influenced stay-leave behavior. Implications for relationship functioning are considered. Need fulfillment has been found to be associated with numerous positive relationship outcomes. Some outcomes of need fulfillment benefit the relationship through their impact on the individual partners, such as greater satisfaction after a disagreement with a partner (Patrick, Knee, Canevello, & Lonsbary, 2007) and greater daily experiences of positive emotions (Le & Agnew, 2001). Other outcomes of need fulfillment benefit the relationship more directly, such as increased commitment to the relationship (Drigotas & Rusbult, 1992), and more secure attachment within the relationship (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci, 2000). With regard to relationship breakup (i.e., whether the romantic relationship remained intact or dissolved over time), the research on the role of need fulfillment is less clear. In their tests of a predictive model of romantic relationship breakup, Drigotas and Rusbult (1992) were unable to identify a consistent mediator of the association between need fulfillment and breakup. This led the authors to infer that not all needs may relate equally to the decision to either stay in or leave a relationship. Slotter and Finkel (2009) found further evidence that not all needs contribute similarly to breakup, finding that fulfillment of companionship needs interacts with attachment anxiety to predict dissolution, but that fulfillment of the needs for autonomy and competency did not. To date, an examination of the mechanisms that distinguish fulfillment of some needs from others in the prediction of breakup has yet to be conducted. The aim of the current study was …