THE PROCESS OF INTIMACY: SIMILARITY, UNDERSTANDING AND GENDER

Intimacy as an important aspect of interpersonal relationships has been widely accepted (Erikson 1950, Sullivan 1953). In the broad context, an understanding of the role of intimacy has been discussed as essential to the development of a science of interpersonal relationships (Hinde 1978). More specifically, intimacy has been cited as an important dimension of the marital interpersonal relationship (Berman and Lief 1975). This paper describes a study of intimacy in 30 young married couples, randomly selected from the general population. Personal identity and accurate perception of the spouse were significant correlates of marital intimacy, and a factor analysis revealed four dimensions of marital relationships: compatibility, structure, intimacy, and problem-solving. In this study, marital adjustment was significantly correlated with expressiveness, commitment, organization, expressed affection, and the absence of conflict. These findings are discussed in the context of the role of intimacy in a science of interpersonal behavior.