Conscientiousness, Effects on Relationships

Is Conscientiousness Important for Relationships

Researchers have focused most of their efforts on examining how conscientiousness relates to performance criteria. For example, conscientiousness has been related to improved task functioning across a wide range of contexts, including school and work, and has even been related to fewer driving accidents. However, recent research is beginning to understand the importance of being conscientious for maintaining high-quality relationships.

Conscientiousness in Childhood Relationships

Children and adolescents who are low on conscientiousness exhibit behavioral problems that interfere with relationships. For example, conscientiousness has been related to externalizing behaviors (e.g., impulsivity), which in turn has been associated with more friends, higher friendship quality, greater peer acceptance, and lower peer victimization. On the other hand, conscientiousness is thought to buffer against the negative effects of internalizing problems on interpersonal relationships. That is, conscientious children seem [Page 322]better able to control their anxiety in interpersonal situations, a skill which leads to better relationship outcomes.

During late adolescence, conscientiousness has been associated with how frequently college-age students contact family members during their first year of school. Although the amount of contact with family members decreased for all students, the smallest decrease in contact was seen for conscientious students. Conscientious persons seemed better able to maintain relationships through more frequent communication even when separated from family members than nonconscientious persons.

Conscientiousness in Adult Relationships

Conscientiousness continues to have an influence on relationships in adulthood. Among adults, conscientiousness has been linked to higher mate desirability, higher relationship quality, and greater marriage stability. Conscientiousness also appears to play a role in how persons cope with stressors. When faced with an interpersonal stressor, persons high on conscientiousness are more likely to rely on coping strategies that help preserve the relationship during stressful periods than are persons low on conscientiousness. High-conscientious individuals are more likely than low-conscientious individuals to compromise, problem solve, seek support, and respond empathically. Due to their use of these relationship-preserving tactics, it is not surprising that individuals high on conscientiousness report fewer marital stressors than individuals low on conscientiousness. Conversely, adults who are low on conscientiousness disclose personal information more inappropriately, are less responsive to their partners in romantic relationships, have poorer interpersonal interactions, are more likely to cheat on their partners, and are more likely to divorce.

Conscientiousness is also linked with parenting. For example, conscientious mothers are more responsive to their child's needs and less likely to use power assertive tactics (e.g., spanking, threats) with their child than low-conscientious mothers. Higher levels of parental conscientiousness seem to create a supportive environment in which the child can learn about, explore, and test his or her world. However, there do seem to be limits; extremely high levels of parental conscientiousness can place unreasonable demands on children leading to more adjustment problems. Interestingly, in col-lectivistic cultures (but not individualistic cultures), conscientious mothers viewed themselves as being more competent as parents than low-conscientious mothers.

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