UC Irvine

Research comparing intercultural and intracultural relationship quality has been inconsistent. The current study examined whether accommodation, the specific reactions to relationship problems, can shed new insight on that mixed literature. Undergraduate women (n = 207) completed an online survey containing measures of relationship quality, accommodation, and demographic characteristics. Analyses revealed that women in intercultural relationships reported greater relationship commitment and satisfaction relative to women in intracultural relationships. Active forms of accommodation, or handling problems in a direct way, were related to commitment (but not satisfaction) more strongly in the intracultural group relative to the intercultural group. Passive forms did not vary by group for commitment nor satisfaction. These findings suggest that active accommodation may be less relevant for intercultural compared to intracultural relationship commitment. Altogether, these findings highlight the importance of studying relationship processes in their distinct contexts.