Relationship satisfaction and differentiation of self as predictors of romantic self-efficiency

This study intended to examine relationship satisfaction and differentiation of self in predicting romantic self-efficacy. Another purpose was to examine the sub-dimensions of relationship satisfaction and differentiation of self in the prediction of romantic self-efficacy. It also investigated whether romantic self-efficacy, relationship satisfaction, and differentiation of self-scores differed significantly by gender. The convenient sample of the study consisted of 279 university students, 193 (69.2%) females and 86 (30.8%) males. "Self-Efficacy in Romantic Relationships Scale" was used to measure romantic self-efficacy, "Self-Differentiation Inventory Short Form" to measure differentiation of self, "Relational Satisfaction Scale" to measure relationship satisfaction, and "Personal Information Form" to collect information about participants. Pearson correlation analysis, stepwise analysis, and a between-group t-test were used to analyze the data. As a result, it was found that differentiation of self and relationship satisfaction explained 29.3% of the total variance of romantic self-efficacy, and sub-dimensions of differentiation of self explained 18.9% of the total variance of romantic self-efficacy. Relationship satisfaction predicted romantic self-efficacy more strongly than differentiation of self. Romantic self-efficacy and relationship satisfaction did not show a statistically significant difference according to gender variable, but differentiation of self showed a significant difference. Findings were discussed in the light of the literature and various suggestions were presented.