Researchers have identified four distinct dating styles that couples use—and where you fall on the spectrum may help predict whether your relationship will last. The study, which was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, looked at 376 couples and found that everyone fit into four different types of "dating couples": dramatic, conflict-ridden, socially involved, and partner-focused. Scientists followed the study participants over 9 months and tracked how committed they were to marrying their partners (and why). The couples were also asked to explain why they felt the way they did when their commitment level. Scientists discovered that a couple's dating style had a lot to do with their long-term relationship potential. Here's a breakdown of their findings, per couple type: Dramatic couples These couples are, yup, drama llamas. And, as you can guess, that's not exactly great for a relationship. Dramatic couples are twice as likely to break up as the other types of couples and their commitment levels swing wildly depending on the latest drama. They're also more prone to intensely hang on to their individuality, and tend to change their commitment level based on time spent with friends or apart from each other. Pro: Drama keeps things interesting. Con: Drama actually blows. Conflict-ridden couples These couples have drops in their commitment when they argue, but it doesn't mean they'll break up. They tend to flip between arguing, which pushes them apart, and being superpassionate, which pulls them back together. Clearly this isn't sustainable over the long haul, but it didn't cause any more breakups than other styles in 9 months. Pro: Makeup sex. Con: This is freaking exhausting. Socially-involved couples Socially-involved couples say they have high levels of satisfaction and stability in their relationships. They share a social network and rely on those friends when it comes to deciding how committed they are. Having mutual friends is big for these couples—it makes them feel closer and more committed to each other. Pro: Couple friends! Con: Do you really want to base your relationship on what your mutual friends are doing? Partner-focused couples This is the best type of couple to be if you're looking to stay in an LTR. Partner-focused couples have the highest chance of staying together and being happy over time. They're involved with each other and are very careful and thoughtful in the way they make choices about their relationships. Pro: You're in a stable, committed relationship. Con: If you're not ready to settle down, that can be boring. This is definitely interesting info for type-casting your friends' relationships, but what does it mean for you? Lead study author Brian G. Ogolsky, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of human development and family studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says that understanding the way you act in your relationship can help you determine whether it's going to last—or whether some things need to change if you want to stay together. He points out that he doesn't know how stable some relationships may be after 9 months (cough, conflict-ridden couples, cough), but dramatic relationships were the only ones that were more likely to split during that time frame. Here's the good news: You're not doomed to a life of dramatic relationships if your last one fell into that category. "It's completely relationship dependent," Ogolsky says. "The way we 'do' relationships is quite contingent on who we are in that relationship with." Whew Source
