RETRACTED: The Development of Willingness to Sacrifice and Unmitigated Communion in Intimate Partnerships (Retracted Article)

Rooted in a relational developmental systems perspective and drawing on German Family Panel data from 3,405 focal participants and their partners surveyed for 7 years, this study examined developmental trajectories of willingness to sacrifice and unmitigated communion, or putting a partner's needs above one's own to the exclusion of the self. Findings revealed each construct followed a declining curvilinear pattern with much variability underlying average trajectories. Women, those with more prior partnerships, and those in longer term relationships were less willing to sacrifice and had lower unmitigated communion at baseline. Participants were more willing to sacrifice when they were more committed, when they and their partners were happier with the union, and when household income was lower. Unmitigated communion was higher when participants were more committed and more insecure in their partner's love. Willingness to sacrifice and unmitigated communion develop in response to sociodemographics, personal history, and both partners' relationship cognitions.