Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Harry Freeman
Abstract
Shared fate captures the extent to which individuals perceive their outcomes as yoked to those of their partner, serving as a proximal indicator of interdependence in romantic relationships. Although prior research has established the Shared Fate Scale as a measure of perceived interdependence, little is known about its psychometric properties over time within ongoing romantic relationships or whether it helps explain relationship quality. I examined these key questions using two longitudinal studies of adults in romantic relationships across three waves spanning approximately two years (N = 445 at Wave 1, N = 260 at Wave 2, and N = 181 at Wave 3). Study 1 examined the measurement invariance and stability of the Shared Fate Scale, as well as whether shared fate functions as a trait or a transient state. Results supported a two-factor structure consisting of Emotional Shared Fate and Perceived Shared Fate and provided evidence for configural, metric, and scalar invariance, indicating that the scale functioned equivalently across time points. Latent mean results indicated that Perceived Shared Fate remained stable across waves, whereas Emotional Shared Fate showed a small increase at the final wave, suggesting that individuals’ beliefs about interdependence remained consistent, while their emotional responses to their partner’s outcomes increased slightly over time. Rank-order stability estimates indicated moderate consistency in individuals’ relative standing over time. However, random-intercept models did not provide statistically significant evidence for stable between-person differences, and within-person variability was observed at Wave 2. Study 2 examined whether shared fate predicts relationship quality and explains the association between relationship duration and relationship quality. Longitudinal models did not demonstrate adequate fit, limiting interpretation of those results. Post hoc cross-sectional analyses using Wave 1 data indicated that perceived shared fate was associated with more positive relationship quality and less negative relationship quality, and significantly mediated the association between relationship duration and relationship quality. Emotional shared fate was not uniquely associated with relationship quality at Wave 1 when both components were included. Moderation analyses were largely nonsignificant, although the interaction between relationship duration and gender was significant; simple slopes showed that the association between relationship duration and shared fate was significant for females but not for males. Together, these studies provide evidence that shared fate can be measured consistently over time and highlight the need for further research to examine how shared fate develops and operates in romantic relationships.
Keywords
Interdependence, Longitudinal Research, Measurement Invariance, Relationship Quality, Romantic Relationship, Shared Fate
Number of Pages
140
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Antwi, Clement, "SHARED FATE IN ADULT ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. 399.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/399