Relationship Progression: Consequences for Relationship Quality

Margaret Gassanov, Ohio State University

This project focuses on the development of romantic relationships. More specifically, I consider the sequencing and spacing of five major relationship events: dating, sex, cohabitation, marriage, and children’s births. First, I focus on describing sequencing and spacing patterns in relationship progression. Sequencing refers to the order in which these events are experienced, while spacing refers to the amount of time between two events. Second, I examine how relationship progression patterns affect subsequent marital quality. Analyses are based on couple-level data from approximately 400 married couples.