Relationship uncertainty and person-specific dynamics of partner rumination and relational turbulence in day-to-day life

Abstract This daily diary study examined dynamic processes of relational turbulence theory. Dating partners (N = 202) completed measures of pretest relationship uncertainty, followed by 30 days of daily rumination and relational turbulence, and then posttest collaborative planning. Using dynamic structural equation modeling with random effects, we found that for the typical partner: (a) on days when they ruminated more about their relationship than usual, they experienced greater than usual relational turbulence; and (b) when partners experienced more than typical turbulence on a day, the next day they ruminated more than usual. We found that partners who had higher (c) month-long averages in rumination, (d) ruminative inertia, and (e) ruminative volatility had higher averages in month-long relational turbulence. We also found that individual differences in partners’ relationship uncertainty predicted person-specific daily rumination (means, volatility) and relational turbulence (means, inertia, volatility), but only relational turbulence averages, in turn, predicted future collaborative planning.