Relational load: Implications for executive functioning, mental health, and feelings of unity in romantic relationships

ABSTRACT This study examined how ongoing relationship maintenance and communal perspectives influence relational load and executive functioning immediately after a stressful conversation in the laboratory in a sample of predominantly white romantic partners. It also explored the aftermath of relational load on partners’ communal perspectives and mental health five consecutive days following the conversation. Receiving greater maintenance from one’s partner before the conversation was associated with increased unity and less conflict, which reduced relational load. This was particularly true for men. Women’s communal perspectives were also associated with better executive functioning for themselves and their partners. Finally, greater relational load diminished feelings of unity and mental health in the days after the laboratory, but the effect on mental health was short-lived.