Mobile-Mediated Communication in Romantic Relationships: The Effects of Communication Indicators and Love Attitude on Relationship Quality

Whether mobile phones benefit or sabotage close relationships has been a persistent subject of debate in media and communication studies. Because previous studies have demonstrated contrasting findings, further studies on this topic are required. Based on media richness theory and social penetration theory, this study investigated the direct and indirect associations between mobile communication and relationship quality (i.e., depth, support, and conflict) in romantic relationships. A survey of 1,000 university students in China revealed that relationship depth was positively predicted by mobile phone calls and negatively predicted by mobile short messages. Mobile WeChat had dialectical effects, as it reinforced relationship depth and support, but increased conflict. Regarding indirect effects, communication quality online positively mediated the effects of mobile phone calls on relationship quality and negatively mediated the effects of mobile short messages and Weibo on relationship quality. Moreover, passionate love attitudes (PLAs) and gender negatively moderated the effects of mobile phone calls on relationship depth, indicating that females and individuals who had stronger PLAs had lower relationship quality when they used mobile phone calls to interact with their romantic partners. The moderating effects of PLA were extended to the indirect relationship between phone calls and relationship quality through communication quality. Overall, this study developed a typology to examine mobile relational communication by integrating the quantity (i.e., mobile use frequencies) and quality of mobile communication, as well as personal attitudes in close relationships.