The dark side of control assessing control in relationships from a dyadic and longitudinal perspective

Psychological research suggests that, other things being equal, the desire for or exercise of control over consequences is advantageous to the individual. However, in the context of relationships the preference and enactment of control may be more problematic. The primary purpose of the present research was to advance the study of control in relationships through the validation of a self-report instrument specifically designed to measure it. Specifically the goals of this research project included: (a) to further validate the Control in Relationships Scale (CIR) using a dyadic and longitudinal approaches, (b) to further differentiate the control and power construct, and (c) to explore the role and the importance of the construct in romantic relationships. Study 1 assessed the association between control and relationship satisfaction from a dyadic perspective. The results indicated that CIR was inversely associated with relationship satisfaction for both partners.Specifically, partner control was strongly correlated with own relationship satisfaction for women but not for men. Furthermore, men tended to perceive the relationship as more egalitarian than women did. Furthermore, in Study 1, CIR was compared with extant power measure and the results suggested that CIR was significantly associated with most power measures, but it was not a redundant construct and it was a better predictor of relationship satisfaction than any of the power measures. Study 2 assessed the relationship between control and satisfaction from a longitudinal point of view and the results suggested that individual's self-perceived control ratings at Time 1 was inversely associated with their relationship satisfaction at Time 2, for high control women and average control men. Next, non-test validity analyses were undertaken by comparing CIR scores to rated narrative accounts of betrayal by students.As expected, CIR was significantly associated with ratings of own control at both Time 1 and Time 2. Taken together, results support that utility of the CIR as a valid measure of control in relationships, indicate the differences between the power and control constructs, and support the notion that control in relationships is associated with negative relationships functioning.