Abstract
This study examines how the commitment and expectation of acceptance in a relationship influence coping behaviors toward interpersonal rejection. Two-hundred-nineteen undergraduate students participated in a questionnaire study in which they rated the degree of commitment and expectation for acceptance regarding their same-sex close friend or same-sex acquaintance, and indicated how they would behave if they were rejected by him/her. Participants showed a higher level of commitment and expectation for acceptance with a close friend than those for an acquaintance. Also, given a hypothesized rejection situation, participants were more inclined toward relationship-constructive behaviors, and less inclined toward relationship-destructive behaviors with their close friend relative to acquaintance. Mediation and path analyses revealed that both commitment and expectation for acceptance directly and independently promoted relationship-constructive behaviors, while inhibiting relationship-destructive behaviors. Moreover, expectation for acceptance had an indirect effect as well, on coping behaviors through strengthening of commitment. These results suggest that coping with rejection should be understood in a framework that incorporates the perspectives of both interdependence theory and risk regulation system theory.
