Exploring the Psychological and Relational Factors Shaping Marital Commitment in Long-Term Relationships

Marko Vuković; Nika  Kovač

Authors

Marko Vuković Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1940-0955
Nika Kovač Department of Social Psychology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2181-9965

Keywords:

marital commitment, relationship satisfaction, emotional intimacy, attachment insecurity, emotion regulation, communication patterns, relationship investment, long-term relationships

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the psychological and relational factors associated with marital commitment in long-term relationships among married adults in Slovenia.

Methods and Materials: This quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted with 417 married adults from Slovenia who had been continuously married for at least seven years. Participants completed standardized self-report measures assessing marital commitment, relationship satisfaction, emotional intimacy, constructive and demand-withdraw communication, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, emotion-regulation difficulties, relationship investment, and perceived quality of alternatives. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, hierarchical multiple regression, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Indirect effects were examined using bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples.

Findings: Hierarchical regression showed that psychological variables significantly increased the explained variance in marital commitment beyond demographic characteristics, ΔR² = .245, p < .001, while relational factors produced a further substantial increase, ΔR² = .388, p < .001. The final regression model explained 67.4% of the variance in commitment. Relationship satisfaction was the strongest positive predictor (β = .34, p < .001), followed by relationship investment (β = .26, p < .001), whereas quality of alternatives was negatively associated with commitment (β = -.22, p < .001). Emotional intimacy and constructive communication were also significant positive predictors, while demand-withdraw communication, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance were significant negative predictors. Structural equation modeling demonstrated acceptable fit, χ²/df = 2.08, CFI = .946, TLI = .938, RMSEA = .051, and SRMR = .047, and explained 69.1% of the variance in marital commitment. Significant indirect effects indicated that attachment insecurity and emotion-regulation difficulties influenced commitment partly through relationship satisfaction, emotional intimacy, and constructive communication.

Conclusion: Marital commitment in long-term relationships appears to be shaped primarily by relational quality and investment processes, while psychological vulnerabilities exert both direct and indirect effects through key interpersonal mechanisms.

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