Relationship quality refers to the perceived quality of a close relationship (i.e., romantic relationship, friendship, or family).
Relationship quality (sometimes used interchangeably with relationship satisfaction, relationship flourishing, or relationship happiness), in the context of close interpersonal relationships is generally defined as a reflection of a couple's overall feelings towards their relationship. More simply, it is the extent to which members in a relationship (romantic or otherwise) view their relationship as positive or negative.
The determinant of relationship quality is often a variety of self-reported evaluations of traits that make up relationship quality. For instance, feelings of closeness may be measured via questions that ask an individual to rate the extent to which they identify with statements. I.e., "I feel close to my partner", "I am comfortable sharing personal thoughts and feelings with my partner", etc. These questions are typically asked on a Likert scale and the average of those scores represents an individual's feelings of closeness toward their partner. Some scales are considered unidimensional and attempt to directly measure the construct of relationship quality. Other scales, considered multidimensional, repeat this process for other hypothesized components (e.g., closeness and satisfaction) before aggregating dimensions into a representative "relationship quality" score.
Historically, relationship quality has been the most commonly studied in the context of intimate romantic relationships. More recently, the study of relationship quality has extended to include other types of close relationships (see: friendships, family, sibling, parent). There is not always agreement among scholars about what domains should be included in the measurement of relationship quality, even within the different types of close relationships. Despite this, relationship quality and its predictors have been of popular interest to relationship scholars due to the range of psychological and relational outcomes that high quality relationships have been positively linked and associated with.
In romantic relationships
Measurement Most early literature attempted to measure romantic relationship quality by centering around two approaches. While both used self-reports of how individuals perceived their relationships, the first attempted to quantify observable behaviors of relationship quality (e.g., frequency of conflict, engagement in relationship maintenance behaviors, time spent together) while the second focused on assessing internal perceptions of the relationship (e.g., perceived feelings of commitment, passion, or trust).Fincham, F. D., Beach, S. R. H., & Kemp-Fincham, S. I. (1997). Marital quality: A new theoretical perspective. In R. J. Sternberg & M. Hojjat (Eds.), Satisfaction in close relationships (pp. 275–304). The Guilford Press. Today, many scales measuring relationship quality focus on the second approach, attempting to identify different psychological 'domains', 'dimensions', or 'constructs' that represent relationship quality as a whole when combined.
Proposed dimensions of romantic relationship quality Though there is differing agreement among scholars, some of the common dimensions thought to underlie relationship quality include: satisfaction, commitment, trust, closeness, intimacy, passion, independence, and relationship flourishing.Hassebrauck, M., & Fehr, B. (2002). Dimensions of relationship quality. Personal Relationships, 9(3), 253–270. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6811.00017
Some of the psychometric scales most commonly used by scholars to measure relationship quality in romantic couples include:
Quality of Marriage Index (QMI): A unidimensional scale of relationship quality which uses 6 questions designed to directly measure relationship quality. Example items include: "My relationship with my partner is very stable", "We have a good relationship", "I really feel like part of a team with my partner". Perceived Relationship Quality Components (PRQC): A multidimensional scale that conceptualizes relationship quality as being made up of relationship satisfaction, commitment, intimacy, trust, passion, and love. Relationship Flourishing Scale (RFS): Developed by Blaine J. Fowers and others in order to address concerns that measures of relationship quality overly focused on individual perceptions of closeness or satisfaction without considering the growth of the relationship. The Relationship Flourishing Scale contains 12 questions used to assess meaning, personal growth, relational giving, and goal sharing within the relationship. Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI):Funk, J. L. & Rogge, R. D. (2007). Testing the ruler with item response theory: Increasing precision of measurement for relationship satisfaction with the Couples Satisfaction Index. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 572-583. A 32 question measure of overall relationship satisfaction that also has shorter 16 item (CSI-16) and 4 item (CSI-4) versions. Example items include: "Do you enjoy your partner's company?", "How rewarding is your relationship with your partner?", "In general, how often do you think that things between you and your partner are going well?".
Outcomes of relationship quality in romantic couples A substantive body of work has focused on the importance of high quality romantic relationships being linked to physical and physiological health outcomes. Those in high quality relationships are less likely to be diagnosed with or symptomatic for generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder.Whisman, M. A. (2007). Marital distress and DSM-IV psychiatric disorders in a population-based national survey. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 638–643. doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.116.3.638Miller, R. B., Hollist, C. S., Olsen, J., & Law, D. (2013). Marital quality and health over 20 years: A growth curve analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75(3), 667–680. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12025 Those who perceive their relationship as being higher quality are typically happier, less stressed, and more satisfied with life when compared to those in low quality relationships. Relationships have also been consistently shown to contribute strongly to physical health with higher relationship quality in couples being associated with positive outcomes ranging from increased self-reported health ratings to decreased mortality, increased cardiovascular functioning, and increased wound healing rates.
In friendships Like the composition of romantic relationship quality, friendship quality refers to the quality of a person's individual friendships. While friendship quality has not been studied as extensively as research on romantic relationship quality, studies have been conducted to define friendship quality and examinations on its psychological and physiological benefits.Chopik, W. J. (2017). Associations among relational values, support, health, and well‐being across the adult lifespan. Personal Relationships, 24(2), 408–422. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12187
Emotional closeness, communication, and trust are also widely recognized as important components of friendship quality, as they help strengthen interpersonal bonds. Individuals who openly share their thoughts and feelings with friends are more likely to develop deeper and more meaningful connections. Effective communication can reduce misunderstandings and support conflict resolution, while trust allows friends to rely on one another for emotional support. These factors contribute to higher levels of intimacy and mutual understanding between individuals. As a result, friendships that include these elements tend to be more satisfying and long-lasting.
As is the case in the study of romantic relationships, the precise components of friendship quality are not unanimously agreed upon by friendship researchers. Generally, a high-quality friendship is conceptualized as a friendship where both members engage in high, approximately equal, levels of prosocial behavior and feel comfortable in relying on one another as sources of social support. Research on friendship quality tends to be separated into the study of adolescent friendships and the study of adult friendships.
Adolescent friendships The most common scale of adolescent friendship quality, the Friendship Qualities Scale, is composed of five dimensions: companionship, conflict, help, security, and closeness. Friendship quality in adolescents has been linked with increased self-esteem, decreased loneliness, better peer adjustment in schools, and more ability to cope with stress.Hartup, W. W., & Stevens, N. (1999). Friendships and adaptation across the life span. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(3), 76–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00018 One investigation of adolescent friendships found that adolescents, age 12, who felt they had a high-quality best friend showed better sympathetic nervous system reactions to social rejections than those with lower quality friendships. Other studies have further shown the importance of high-quality adolescent friendships to mental health, with children in high-quality friendships consistently reporting better mental health outcomes such as increased psychological well-being, increased psychological resilience, reduced anxiety, and reduced depressive symptoms.
Adult friendships
Measuring friendship quality in adults Research on friendship quality in adults bears many similarities with studies of romantic quality. Indeed, some studies measuring friendship quality directly adapt measures of romantic quality like the Marriage Quality index to a friendship context. One of the only scales created specifically for the measurement of adult friendship quality that has seen widespread academic use is the McGill Friendship Questionnaire, published by Mendelson and Aboud in 1999.Mendelson, M. J., & Aboud, F. E. (1999). Measuring friendship quality in late adolescents and young adults: McGill Friendship Questionnaires. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 31(2), 130–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0087080 The scale conceptualizes friendship quality as the extent to which a friend is able to fulfill the following functions:
Stimulating companionship (experiencing fun and excitement with a friend) Help (tangible and emotional support provided by a friend) Intimacy (feelings of closeness and trust within the friendship) Reliable Alliance (being able to count on a friend when they are needed) Self-Validation (boosting feelings of self-esteem and self-worth) Emotional Security (comfort provided by a friend in unfavorable situations)
Later work has examined the quality of an individual's network of friends, as opposed to satisfaction with a singular friend. Victor Kaufman at UCLA's Marriage and Close Relationships Lab developed the Friendship Network Satisfaction (FNS) Scale in 2022. The FNS has two subscales of overall Friendship Satisfaction: closeness (feelings of being understood by friends, feeling close to friends, etc.) and socialization (spending free time with friends, doing things with friends, etc.). The scale is used to measure an individual's satisfaction with their network of friends, rather than their satisfaction with any individual friend.
Outcomes of Friendship Quality in Adults