The Attachment-Satisfaction Relationship On Facebook: Emotional Intelligence And Conflict

Caldwell, J. M., Ph.D., Purdue University, August 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