A REEXAMINATION OF RUSBULT RESPONSES TO DISSATISFACTION TYPOLOGY

Rusbult's typology has been widely employed but has rarely been subjected to critical empirical examination. The model was evaluated in three phases, using data from 166 randomly selected married respondents: (1) the four proposed responses to dissatisfaction were correlated with four measures of relationship quality and relationship alternatives, with the correlations lending support to Rusbult's matrix, (2) an oblique factor analysis successfully distinguished among the four dissatisfaction responses, (3) three of these responses (Exit, Voice and Neglect) were clearly identifiable in multidimensional scaling. The results thus largely support Rusbult's typology, although the Loyalty response and the validity of Rusbult's ‘active/passive’ distinction, require further investigation. © 1991, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.