Romantic Relationship Is a Specific

Romantic relationship is a specific type of relationship that occurs between two persons. The parties in a romantic relationship have mutual feelings of positive affect for each other. The positive affect is often described as love. This love is distinct from the paternal or maternal love that may occur between a parent and a child (Busby, Gardner, & Taniguchi, 2005). The love is often accompanied by strong desires to be with the other person. Romantic relationships are not always equal in terms of the degree of positive affect experienced by one individual toward another. The most notable elements of a romantic relationship are volition and intimacy (Moss & Schwebel1993).

The types of persons who engage in romantic relationships are wide and varying. Romantic relationships do not only occur between members of opposite sex. Same sex individuals can have strong feelings of positive affect for each other (Patterson 2000). Additionally, ethnicity and race are not limitations that impact romantic relationships (Clark-Ibanez, & Felmlee 2004). There are persons however, who believe that romantic relationships between individuals of different, races or religions should be discouraged.

Persons who are engaged in romantic relationships are often involved in an exclusive relationship. This exclusive relationship may often end in the marriage of the persons who are romantically connected. Marriage provides an environment that is supposed to enhance and prolong the feelings that accompany romantic relationships. The exclusivity of marriage represents the logical end of romantic relationships. Unfortunately, many marriages end in divorce which signals the formal end of the romantic union (Amato, & Rogers 1997).

The methods used by couples to sustain the romance in their relationship are manifold. The initial desires wane with time and the excitement ebbs. Couples struggle with maintaining the passion of the relationship overtime. Consequently romantic relationships are volatile and do not have the type of longevity they are presumed to possess.

The relationship between instant messaging (IM) and intimacy is a very interesting phenomenon. The author identifies the act of communicating through IM as a mechanism through which couples can develop and maintain intimacy. Additionally, the level of the intimacy can be higher and more intense than through regular communication. This heightened intimacy is the result of the direct and immediate nature of the communication between the parties.

The author successfully demonstrates that the work identifies and attempts to fill lacunae in the literature. The study examined 138 college students at universities in the United States. The immediate concern with this study would be the question of the sample size. A sample of this size suggests that there would be unacceptable levels of error within the study. This error threatens the generalizability of the study.