Date of Award

2013

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Mary C. Pistole

Abstract

Caldwell, J. M., Ph.D. Purdue University, February 2013. The Attachment-Satisfaction Relationship on Facebook: Emotional Intelligence and Conflict. Major Professor: M. Carole Pistole, Ph.D.

Because of the unique interpersonal nature of social networking sites, as well as the vast number of people using them, this study examines how attachment differences and other factors, including social networking site romantic conflict behavior and emotional intelligence, link to romantic relationship satisfaction. College students who were in romantic relationships and users of social networking sites (N = 274), completed the following measures: (a) the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale-Short Form (ECR-S; Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt, & Vogel, 2007), (b) the Facebook Conflict Management Scale (FCMS; Caldwell, 2009), (c) the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF; Petrides & Furnham, 2006), and (d) the Dyadic Satisfaction Scale (Spanier, 1976). Hierarchical multiple regression tested the following hypotheses: (a) attachment anxiety and avoidance will contribute significantly, negatively, and uniquely to relationship satisfaction; (b) effective Facebook conflict management strategies will contribute significantly, positively, and uniquely to relationship satisfaction, with ineffective Facebook conflict management strategies contributing significantly, negatively, and uniquely to satisfaction; (c) emotional intelligence will contribute significantly, positively, and uniquely to relationship satisfaction; and (d) insecure attachment will explain more unique satisfaction variance than Facebook conflict management strategies or emotional intelligence. Regression results indicated that (a) attachment avoidance contributed significantly, uniquely, and negatively to relationship satisfaction; (b) the Facebook conflict management strategies did not contribute significantly to relationship satisfaction; (c) emotional intelligence did not contribute significantly to relationship satisfaction; and (d) attachment insecurity was the strongest and only significant contributor to relationship satisfaction. These findings have implications for individual therapy, couples therapy, and psychoeducational outreach. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.

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