| Though research on teasing is prevalent in the literature on children's interactions, teasing has not often been studied in the context of adult relationships. However, most would agree that teasing is a common phenomenon in a variety of adult relationships, especially romantic relationships. By nature, teasing is ambiguous and runs the gamut from lighthearted banter to caustic jeers, and to study teasing, these types of teases must be differentiated. The present study addresses the effect of positive and negative teasing on satisfaction and longevity in the romantic relationships of ninety-one couples dating or married for a minimum of three months. At the first wave of data collection, both partners completed questionnaires about their relationship quality and their experiences with teasing. Partners also wrote a narrative about a time they teased each other, and discussed these narratives in a videotaped interaction. At follow-up, about six months after the first data collection, couples were contacted to assess the status of their relationship. Couples who were still dating/married were invited to complete a time two relationship satisfaction questionnaire. Couples who had broken up were asked when the relationship ended and the cause of the break-up.;Data analyses addressed the effect of positive and negative teasing and positive and negative responses to teasing on relationship quality for both actor (the person doing the teasing or responding) and partner. Results indicated that negative teasing and negative response to teasing were more strongly associated with relationship quality than positive teasing and positive response. In addition, negative response had the strongest association at both the actor and the partner levels, indicating that people who responded negatively to teasing experienced less relationship satisfaction and had partners with lower relationship satisfaction. At follow-up, couples who were still dating showed a similar pattern, such that negative teasing and negative response to teasing at time one was associated with lower relationship satisfaction at time two, even after controlling for satisfaction at time one. These findings indicate that adult teasing, in particular negative teasing and negative response to teasing, is more than just innocent fun and worthy of future study. |
