Interdependence Theory and the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model: Where Theory and Method Converge

This work describes an application of the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) that allows researchers to test hypotheses in terms of interdependence theory (IT). The authors' goal is to move beyond the obvious similarities of these two frameworks by providing a detailed conceptual integration. This analysis demonstrates that aspects of APIM analysis reveal a useful perspective on interdependence not explicitly articulated by IT. They also expand on ideas presented by Kenny and Ledermann by exploring the relationship between their ratio parameter k and IT, and introducing two additional ratios (h and c) also suggested by IT. A complete worked example of APIM analysis from the perspective of IT, along with a SAS MACRO that produces confidence intervals for k, h, and c, is provided.