When Romantic Partners’ Goals Conflict: Effects on Relationship Quality and Subjective Well-Being

Most studies have explored goal pursuit from an intraindividual perspective; however, it is becoming increasingly clear that
people’s relationships influence many aspects of goal pursuit (Fitzsimons and Finkel in Curr Direct Psychol Sci 19(2):101–105,
2010). The current study examined the influence of goal conflict between romantic partners on relationship quality and the subjective
well-being of the partners. In a sample of 105 dating couples (N = 210) both partners provided ratings of their subjective well-being, relationship quality, and the degree of conflict they
experience when trying to pursue their goals. Structural equation modeling was used to conduct dyadic analyses on the variables.
Results showed that both partners’ reports of higher goal conflict were directly associated with lower relationship quality
and lower subjective well-being. Lower relationship quality was, in turn, also associated with lower subjective well-being.
Furthermore, one partner’s report of goal conflict was indirectly related to the other partner’s subjective well-being through
relationship quality. These findings indicate that relational influences on goal pursuit have implications not only for goal
pursuit but also for well-being and relationship quality.