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Advantages
- A major reason why relationships breakdown is that one or both partners have extramarital affairs. Boekhout et al (1999) showed how such affairs might be a direct reaction to the perceived lack of skills and/or stimulation in the current relationship. They asked undergraduates to rate various sexual and emotional reasons for men and women to be unfaithful in a committed relationship. Participants judged that sexual reasons for more likely to be used by men, where as emotional reasons for infidelity would be more likely to be used by women.
- The importance of social skills deficits in relationship breakdown has led to the development of training programmes that attempt to enhance relationship skills in distressed couples. The couples coping enhancement training programme aims to sensitise couples to the issue of equity and respect within their relationship and to improve communication and problem solving skills. Cina et al (2003) compared 50 couples (average length of relationship 12 years) who received CCET training with a control group who did not. Results showed that the CCET group reported much higher marital quality after training compared to the control group.
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Disadvantages
- Long distance romantic relationships and long distance friendships are perhaps more common than we think. Rohlfing (1995) found that 70% of students sampled had experienced at least one long distance relationship and that 90% had experienced a long distance relationship.The fact that in our mobile society people do have to move and do become separated from family, friends and/or partners, means that it is useful to understand the management strategies that people use. For example, Holt and Stone (1988) found that there was little decrease in relationship satisfaction as long as lovers are able to unite regularly.
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