A couple analysis of relationship perception among couples who face work demands

This study addresses how couples experiencing work travel demands talk about their relationship. Using a sample of 29 couples who experience work travel, this study examines what couples in separate interviews reported regarding their relationship, and uses mixed-method strategies to develop a typology of couples. Three different relationship types were uncovered: aware couples who consider a variety of aspects of themselves, their partners, their relationships, and their contexts as they discuss their lives; individually focused couples who discuss their relationship only in terms of themselves and their partners; and isolated couples who discuss their relationships void of context. These findings support the notion that couples have a degree of similarity when it comes to social cognitions of their relationships.