| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to test the utility of the Investment Model (Rusbult, 1980) of romantic commitment for black and white dating couples. Twenty black and 20 white college dating couples completed questionnaires measuring the Investment Model components and additional variables. According to the Investment Model, the level of romantic commitment is positively related to relationship satisfaction and positively related to the magnitude of personal investments, but negatively related to the availability of romantic alternatives. We expected the romantic commitment of black couples to differ from that of white couples due to the shortage of available black male partners. The only racial differences to emerge, however, were found in a Race8 Gender interaction: Commitment increased with an increase in satisfaction for white males, but not black males. Gender differences indicated that the Investment Model provided a better account of the commitment of females. We also examined the role of two other factors in the prediction of commitment: perceived physical attractiveness of the partner and concern about AIDS. Both factors were significantly related to commitment for males, but not females, and neither of these factors demonstrated racial differences. |
