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Intimacy and Need Fulfillment in Couple Relationships

The University of Texas at Dallas

Duane Buhrmester

The University of Texas at Dallas

Two studies were conducted to explore the following questions: (i) does intimacy, within the context of a couple relationship, contribute to individual need fulfillment?; (ii) does self-disclosure have beneficial effects on need fulfillment without being accompanied by intimacy's others dimensions: positive affective tone and partner listening and understanding?; and (iii) does intimacy's impact on need fulfillment mediate its relationship with physical and psychological well-being? For the first study, 154 commuter university students completed questionnaire measures of well-being and the Need Fulfillment Inventory (NFI), a new paper-and-pencil test that assesses the agentic and communal dimensions of need fulfillment. Results from study 1 showed positive correlations between both agentic and communal need fulfillment and well-being. For the second study, 133 cohabiting couples were asked to complete the NFI, two measures of relational intimacy, five measures of well-being, and to keep a daily record of their interactions for a week. Factor analyses of the daily record data revealed three dimensions of verbally intimate interaction: positive affective tone, daily self-disclosure, and listening and understanding. Results supported the notion that relational intimacy, assessed globally and as a characteristic of the couples' daily interactions, is positively associated with individual need fulfillment. Self-disclosure's impact on need fulfillment was found to vary as a function of the other dimensions of intimacy present in the interactions. The pattern of moderation between self-disclosure and other dimensions of intimacy was not exactly as predicted, however; sometimes, self-disclosure may soften the detrimental effects of negative interactions on need fulfillment. Finally, the mediational hypothesis was mostly supported, which indicates that intimacy's relationship to psychological well-being is most likely accounted for by its effects on individual need fulfillment. Need fulfillment did not fully mediate the relationship between intimacy and depressive symptoms.

Key Words: couples • intimacy • need fulfillment

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 15, No. 4, 435-469 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407598154001


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