Together or Apart: How Distance Shapes Relationship Conflicts and Well-being among Young Adults in Romantic Relationships

A BSTRACT Background: Romantic relationships encompass feelings of closeness, emotionality, and yearning for love and intimacy. The quality of romantic relationships is a strong indicator of life satisfaction and well-being. Although subjective well-being is attributed to romantic relationships, it may carry an inherent risk of conflict. The conflict is considered an endemic in romantic relationships with close and distant geographical circumstances. It is crucial to comprehend the impact of conflict in intimate relationships as an understanding of its pervasiveness and growing mental health issues. Aim: The present study aimed to see the difference in subjective well-being between proximal- and long-distance relationships. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional and used a snowball sampling technique. The partners in romantic relationships in this study consisted of 237 (46% males and 54% females) based in the Northeast region. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to find the mean and statistically significant differences. The Life Satisfaction Scale and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule scales were used for subjective well-being and the Romantic Partner Conflict scale for relationship conflict. Results: The results showed higher relationship conflicts in females and at proximal distances. However, significant mean rank differences in subjective well-being were found higher in long-distance relationships ( M = 129.47) than in proximal-distance relationships ( M = 110.96, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Research shows that disagreements and conflicts are integral to partner relationships, and geographical distances are assumed to improve subjective well-being and romantic relationship conflicts.