Dynamic and Daily Partner-Specific Processes of Relationship Uncertainty and Enacted Relationship Talk

Abstract

Guided by relational turbulence theory (RTT), this intensive longitudinal study examined how within-person daily fluctuations in relationship uncertainty corresponded with individuals’ decisions to engage in daily enacted relationship talk. Using a person-specific approach, this study also examined how individuals’ attachment insecurity predicted within-person differences in month-long processes predicted by RTT. College-aged dating partners ( N = 202, between-person) reported their attachment proclivities in a pre-test survey and subsequently reported on their relationship uncertainty and enacted relationship talk once per day over a period of 30 consecutive days ( N = 5,240, within-person). Results indicated that on days when individuals experienced elevated relationship uncertainty, they engaged in less relationship talk than they typically did. Additionally, we found that individuals with more volatility (intraindividual variability) and inertia (day-to-day carryover) in relationship uncertainty throughout the month enacted less relationship talk on average. Finally, results indicated that attachment insecurity predicted person-specific month-long processes consistent with RTT.