Previous research has offered mixed evidence on whether obligation in relationships benefits or harms individuals and their relationships. Given that few studies are prospective and consider multiple close relationships, we used 18-year longitudinal data to model whether obligation is associated with differences in relational and individual well-being over time. Because prior mixed findings may be attributed to differential influences of obligation across development, we also considered age. Light obligation predicted higher levels of relational and individual well-being; substantive obligation sometimes predicted lower levels of well-being. Both types of obligation mostly did not predict changes in relationships and well-being over time except substantive obligation predicted slower increases in friend support. The associations between light and substantive obligation were largely uniform across age. The only exception was for substantive obligation and friend support; substantive obligation was associated with a slower increase in friend support only for younger adults (<39 years old). This study extends previous research by examining obligation among middle-aged adults, addressing a critical developmental gap in this literature. Findings suggest that understanding people’s obligations toward close others is important not only for their own well-being but also their relationships in adulthood.

中文翻译：

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义务对成年中期人际关系和幸福感的影响

先前的研究就关系义务是否有利于或损害个人及其关系提供了混合的证据。鉴于很少有前瞻性研究并考虑多个亲密关系，我们使用了18年的纵向数据来模拟义务是否与长期关系和个人福祉的差异相关。因为先前的混合发现可能归因于整个开发过程中义务的不同影响，所以我们也考虑了年龄。轻度义务预示着较高的关系和个人福祉；实质性义务有时预示着较低的幸福感。两种类型的义务大多都无法预测随着时间的推移，人际关系和幸福感会发生变化，但实质性义务预计会增加朋友支持的增长速度。轻度义务与实质性义务之间的关联在各个年龄段大致相同。唯一的例外是实质性义务和朋友支持；实质性义务与仅对年轻人（<39岁）的朋友支持增长缓慢有关。这项研究通过检查中年成年人的义务来扩展先前的研究，从而解决了该文献中的关键发展差距。研究结果表明，了解人们对亲密他人的义务不仅对他们自己的幸福很重要，而且对于他们成年后的关系也很重要。这项研究通过检查中年成年人的义务来扩展先前的研究，从而解决了该文献中的关键发展差距。研究结果表明，了解人们对亲密他人的义务不仅对他们自己的幸福很重要，而且对于他们成年后的关系也很重要。这项研究通过检查中年成年人的义务来扩展先前的研究，从而解决了该文献中的关键发展差距。研究结果表明，了解人们对亲密他人的义务不仅对他们自己的幸福很重要，而且对于他们成年后的关系也很重要。