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Roommate Satisfaction
Author Note
Holly Elko, Casey Fitzgerald, McKenzie Covell, and Diego L. Castro, SCOM 383
Quantitative Research Methods, Dr. Jennifer Gill Rosier, Ph.D., Department of Communications,
Thank you to the Department of Communications for creating this research opportunity.
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE 2
Introduction
This research project was designed to help evaluate what the best option for incoming
college students to pick their roommates for their first year of college life will be. The fear of
bad roommate relationship is heavily induced in college students across the country.
Undoubtedly an important decision that may determine, and ultimately decide whether a
particular student’s college experience will be a satisfactory one, the researchers felt this
particular topic is one that has never been discussed academically and analyzed statistically, but
is one of the many important life decisions that first year college students need to make and thus
research was needed to help guide those students to make the best choice possible.
homogenous attributes that people may share in common, such as age, gender, study habits, etc.,
This method can include filling out a survey or questionnaire prior and having people grouped
together based on the similarities of their answers. In the era of the digital age we have begun to
see a shift in the way students are choosing their roommates through the use of social media
outlets such as Facebook. Instead of a student being completely unaware of their upcoming
roommate, they are now able to look them up online and see pictures, previous posts, and try and
determine if that person will be the best fit for them based on the image portrayed via social
media.
The purpose of this research is to understand the most successful way to choose a college
roommate in order to have the most relationship satisfaction with that person. The researchers
believed the importance of answering this questions stems from previous research concluding
that a positive living experience is vital for college students to develop important social and
academic networks and transition smoothly into the college lifestyle (Kaya, 2005).
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE 3
The researchers believe that we will find that roommates who met online will have a
higher level of roommate satisfaction than those who were randomly assigned, and in correlation
to that statement we also believe that Female roommate who met via social media will result in a
lower roommate satisfaction than male roommates who met through social media. We support
this belief because we feel that the shift towards the digital age with the younger generation will
allow them to identify potential positive relationships better via social media than through the
answering of questionnaires and surveys and random homogenous selection. In addition to this
those who met online based on gender, and we conclude this due to the greater difficulty for
females to create and maintain relationship satisfaction than males in new environments.
participants being any students living with roommates that are not freshman, since the survey is
being conducted only 2 months into the current academic calendar year thus participants will not
be able to properly evaluate their roommates at this point. Aside from creating new surveys, the
researchers also provided a stealthy collection of academic journals regarding the topic for
review and analyzation to help better understand and explain the phenomenon. The following
will explain important topics from the researcher's review of literature, firstly a theoretical
background on how people establish relationships in general, then how social media and the
internet now play a vital role in roommate matching, the benefits to homogenous grouping of
roommates, and finally review how roommate relationships play a significant role in the overall
Review of Literature
Social penetration theory (Altman & Taylor, 1973) aims to explain how people get to
know each other by increasing intimacy over the course of a relationship. To further explain the
premise of their theory, Altman and Taylor (1973) used an onion as a metaphor for human
beings. The theorists believed that human intimacy could be compared to onions in that both
onions and human have several layers. The outer layer contains basic information that is
superficial in nature. As one delves deeper in conversation, the information that gets revealed is
more personal. It is the sharing of this information that sparks intimacy formation (Pennington,
2008).
Social penetration theory states that this self-disclosure is part of an inward cost-benefit
analysis. This analysis weighs the impact that self-disclosure will have on the relationship. Self-
disclosure typically occurs in a pattern; progressing from non-intimate details to intimate details
as a result of the cost-benefit analysis (Ayres, 1979). During interactions, a person must decide
whether it would be beneficial for them to disclose a piece of personal information based on the
perceived level of intimacy between the parties. This perceived level of intimacy also determines
the rate at which people choose to disclose information. The rate at which information seeking
questions are asked is determined by the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis. This process is
ongoing and takes time to develop (Ayres, 1979). Interestingly, it typically takes a matter of
weeks for social actors to evaluate the costs and benefits of forming a lasting relationship
(Griffin, 2000). The cost-benefit analysis ultimately helps the people engaging in the relationship
transforming the transition from high school to college by linking students prior to arriving on
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE 5
campus. Before students ever set foot on campus, they can make friends, join clubs, locate
activities, find roommates, and discuss future student events (Lombardi, 2007). With this new
trend, it is vital for students seeking a roommate to take advantage of social media sites, such as
Facebook (Heiberger & Harper, 2008; Junco, 2012; Martinez-Alemán & Wartman, 2008).
Facebook is well-known and widespread with 1.44 billion personal accounts registered and more
than half of those users logging in at least once a day (Facebook, 2015; Pew Research Center,
2015). Today’s generation of college students must especially adapt to this new social media
trend and apply its use to help promote the best college experience possible, “[social networking
sites like Facebook are for this generation of college and university students a fundamental
campus culture” (Nehls & Livengood, 2017)The potential of Facebook for helping students
connect, communicate and affiliate with their campuses also highlights its usefulness and for this
generation social media exchanges are a primary means of communication (Davis, Deil-Amen,
Rios-Aguilar, & González, 2015; Ghosh, Chawla, & Mallott, 2012; Nehls & Smith 2014;
Russell, Nazione, & Smith 2012). Research (Nehls & Smith, 2014) also indicates the emergence
that does for dormitory life what eHarmony and Match.com have long done for romance. Each
individual fills out a questionnaire covering study habits, overnight guests, tidiness, politics,
sexual orientation, and religion, among other topics (Foderaro, 2015). However, the preferred
and most recommended site for college students to meet new potential friends and roommates on
according to survey research is Facebook, “Realistically, even the most personal roommate-
matching service can’t match Facebook,” said Adam Gang, 18, of Colorado, who will be a
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE 6
freshman at American University. “You’re an accepted friend request away from knowing
Homogenous Roommates
Over time, various researchers and college administrators have debated over the best
method for assigning roommates. One idea in particular is that of homogeneous grouping,
assigning individuals together based on similar personality traits, communication styles, or living
preferences (Carli, Ganley, & Pierce-Otay, 1991; Martin & Anderson, 1985; Lapidus, Green, &
Baruh, 1985). In general, when roommates who are similar live together, it has been found that
their overall satisfaction is better. Buffington (1984) argues that when residents are matched on
the basis on personality, habits, and values, they tend to have less conflict and closer personal
relationships.
Regarding personality, it has been theorized that those with similar traits will like their
roommates more and be more satisfied (Cario, 2015). Wetzel, Shwartz, and Vasu (1979)
conducted a study attempting to discover the ideal roommate relationship. They hypothesized
roommates would be compatible if they possess similar amounts of the same personality traits,
perceive each other as having socially desirable traits, and see each other as fulfilling the each
other’s ideals. The results showed a positive relationship between these variables and roommate
satisfaction (Wetzel, Shwartz, & Vasu, 1979). Clearly, individuals desire roommates with traits
similar to their own. Hanason and Nadler (2012) also found that when students create “ideal”
roommates in their heads, by imagining desirable traits, there was greater satisfaction if these
traits were met. These two studies argue that individuals will be more satisfied with their
experience if their desires of having a similar roommate are met. Even perception of similarity
plays a role in this satisfaction. A study by Carli, Ganley, and Pierce-Otay (1991) showed that
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE 7
people who just perceive themselves as being similar to their roommates claimed greater social
In addition to sharing similar personality traits, it has been argued that roommates who
have similar communication styles will have more satisfaction towards one another (Martin &
Anderson, 1995). Martin and Anderson (1995) conducted a study on 203 college students seeing
express more satisfaction/affinity to each other. These findings showed roommates that were
pro-socially similar (high in willingness to communicate and interpersonal competence, and low
While personality and communication styles play a major role in roommate similarity,
research on roommates with similar living preferences, such as sleep habits and cleanliness,
shows greater satisfaction as well (Jones, McCaa, & Martecchini, 1980; Lapidus, Green, &
Baruh, 1985). Jones et al. (1980) studied roommates with similar sleep and study habits and
concluded that differences are less likely to become serious if personal orientations are
compatible. Additionally, Carey, Stanley, and Biggers (1988) found that roommates who were
College years represent a developmentally critical time period for most 18 to 24 year
olds. In many industrialized societies, college is an environment where young people experience
significant change and psychological developments (Arnett, 2000). This is a critical time period
where young adults will gain the foundation for their careers, relationships, and achievements for
the remainder of their lives (Chisholm & Hurrelmann, 1995). During this critical time period,
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE 8
interpersonal relationships and interactions with peers have a profound impact on the wellbeing
of a college student. Erb, Renshaw, Short, and Pollard (2014) analyzed the importance of college
students’ roommate relationships. From prior research, they found that positive roommate
relationships might help protect college students from psychological distress. In addition, Lepore
(1992) examined the effects of perceived social support from college students. Individuals with
high levels of perceived social support from their roommates had little adjustment issues or
psychological distress.
relationships, there is also evidence that roommate relationships can be a risk factor for mental
health problems. Students have reported that they experience annoyance with their roommates’
habits and personalities that can often annoy and add stress to their everyday lives (Erb,
Understanding the ways in which roommates interact with one another can often lead to
understanding the reasoning behind the level of satisfaction in the relationship. Whether it is a
positive or negative relationship, college roommates have a profound impact on the adjustment
Methodology
Method
In order to examine the first hypothesis, our independent variable was the method in
which the participants chose their college roommate (social media, random assignment,
previously known, or other) while the dependent variable was roommate relationship
satisfaction. In order to examine our second hypothesis, our independent variable was the
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE 9
biological sex of the participants (male, female) while our dependent variable was roommate
relationship satisfaction.
Participants
There were 123 participants in our study. 109 participants were female (82.1%) and 22
participants were male (17.9%). The age of our participants ranged from 18 to 21, with the mean
age being 18.27. Out of our participants, there were 114 freshman (92.7%), 3 sophomores
Procedures
Individuals who decided to participate in our study clicked on the link that was provided
to them and were greeted with our cover letter. After reading the cover letter, they willingly
agreed to participate by clicking to continue to the survey. They were then asked to complete the
survey according to their personal experiences with their college roommates in order to measure
Participants were asked to choose from one of the following options that described their
situation best. The options were the method of roommate selection with the following choices:
met online, knew previously, randomly assigned, and another write-in section. The second
option that the participant were prompted with was their biological sex. The dependent variable,
Satisfaction Scale (see appendix A), which was created for this study. The participants were
asked to choose on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The
Likert scale intended to measure the level of overall satisfaction with the participant’s current
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE
10
roommate. The survey consisted of six statements. Sample statements included items such as, “I
feel like my roommate respects me” and “I enjoy spending time with my roommate.”
Rationale
Our objectives in conducting this research was to find out the best method for incoming
college students to find a roommate that will lead to the greatest level of relationship satisfaction
possible, thus increasing their success at college. The researchers believed this area to be of
significant importance because relationships formed in college, especially amongst those living
in close quarters tend to have a significant effect on the success and happiness of college students
and there has yet to be an all recognized best way to finding roommates in college. Another
motivating factor for the researchers was the lack of direct quantitative research regarding the
topic of study that needed to be addressed, and this is one of the reasons why more research is
needed in the particular field of study. The research question posed has minimal quantitative data
that can relate to the specific field of interest, and even qualitative data regarding the questions is
not specific but must be drawn from a broad range of already more heavily researched areas of
study. The researchers proposed the first directly correlated quantitative research study
conducted in the topic of interest by taking surveys of college students at James Madison
University in Harrisonburg, VA and asking them to describe their roommate relationships and
answer how they met those roommates to try to uncover any patterns amongst responses. An
analysis of this data will be written to create qualitative data regarding the study and attempt to
relate theories back to the data that could explain possible any anomalies in the research findings.
The researchers believe that Social Penetration Theory answers questions about the
development of the roommate relationship that occurs throughout the college career of that
student. An understanding of this area is fundamental in our research to check for patterns and
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE
11
inconsistencies in negative roommate relationships and explain and answer what is the best way
have a satisfactory relationship with a roommate. Social penetration theory (Altman & Taylor,
1973) aims to explain how people get to know each other by increasing intimacy over the course
of a relationship and is thus vital in our understanding of relationship satisfaction. With today’s
trend of relational communication amongst friends shifting mainly from interpersonal to online,
social media networks are quickly becoming the new way to make friends, find lovers, and
match up with your next college roommate. Meeting online people use Social Penetration Theory
to self-disclose information bit by bit to discover who the other person really is, and thus decide
whether or not to live with them as a consequence of those responses. Just like the peeling of an
onion (Altman & Taylor, 1973) each responds to the questions as they become progressively
more in depth and personal. The reason we do this is research has proven that homogeneous
roommate relationships often tend to be the most successful, and in general, when roommates
who are similar live together, it has been found that their overall satisfaction is better
(Buffington, 1984). The review of literature proposed by the researchers all connects to the topic
of study for because one needs to properly self-disclose and find a good, homogenous roommate
relationship online via social media in today’s digital media age and one needs to do this because
of the importance of college students’ roommate relationship’s on their success not only
academically, by socially and mentally as well, as this is a critical time period where young
adults will gain the foundation for their careers, relationships, and achievements for the
Hypothesis 1: Roommates who met online will have a higher level of roommate
Hypothesis 2: Female roommates who met via social media will result in a lower
roommate satisfaction than male roommates who met through social media.
Results Section
Method of Analysis
For hypothesis 1, our independent variable was method of roommate selection (through
social media vs. randomly assigned) and the dependent variable was level of roommate
satisfaction. For hypothesis 2, we decided to isolate the participants who selected roommates
through social media. Our independent variable was biological sex (male vs. female) and the
dependent variable was level of roommate satisfaction. For both of the hypotheses we chose a t-
Test because the independent variable was nominal with two levels and the dependent variable
was interval/ratio.
Reliability Analysis
The Level of Roommate Relationship Satisfaction Scale (α=0.950) had 6 items and no
Findings
For hypothesis 1, we expected to find that roommates who met via social media would
have a higher level of roommate satisfaction than those who were randomly assigned. The results
from our t-Test showed that there was no significant difference between roommates who met
online (M=3.96) and those who were randomly assigned (M=3.85), t (85) =.446, p>.05, Cohen’s
For hypothesis 2, we expected to find that female roommates who met through social
media would have a higher roommate satisfaction than male roommates who met through social
media. The results from our t-Test showed that there was no significant difference of roommate
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE
13
satisfaction between females who met online (M=4.04) and males who met online (M=3.16), t
(54) =-1.65, p>.05, Cohen’s d=.665.Our results did not support our hypothesis.
Discussion Section
Results
After conducting a t-test for all of the data, it was determined that there was no
significant difference of roommate satisfaction based on the method of roommate selection or the
Previous literature (Wetzel, Shwartz, & Vasu, 1979; Hanason and Nadler, 2012) helped
form the first hypothesis on the basis that those roommates who had some form of control in
choosing their roommates through social media would have a higher level of roommate
satisfaction. The rationale was that roommates who met online would choose each other as a
roommate because they perceived some form of similarity between the two of them where as the
randomly assigned roommates let the university decide for them. However, our results showed
that there was no significant difference between the two methods. We believe that it was the
design of our research that led to our hypothesis being rejected. The timing of our survey may
have been too early for the roommates to have a real grasp on whether or not they were satisfied
with their roommate. We made a large theoretical leap in assuming that roommates would be
able to accurately analyze their level of satisfaction after only living with their roommate for a
couple of months. This leap comes in the form of social penetration theory which states that true
intimacy between two people will take a long time to form (Altman and Taylor, 1973).
Our second hypothesis predicted that females who met via social media would have a
higher level of roommate satisfaction than males who met via social media. This hypothesis was
rejected. Similar to our first hypothesis, we feel as though we made a theoretical leap in
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE
14
believing that enough time had passed for an accurate analysis of their roommate satisfaction. In
addition, our participant pool was heavily skewed in favor of female participants. There were 5
Due to the fact that both our hypotheses were not supported, it can be assumed that there
were limitations to our research design. Among those limitations were threats to experimental
validity such as attrition and selection threat. Although there were some weaknesses to our study,
our data showed some strengths such as high reliability and large participant pool.
Our data showed attrition, where multiple participants dropped out halfway through the
study, or just failed to answer some of the questions. Our participant pool also experienced
selection threat. The participants were largely James Madison University freshman enrolled in a
communication class that offers extra credit our course credit for SONA participation. This leads
to a decrease in participant motivation in answering the questions legitimately. The results could
have been more accurate and maybe our hypothesis could have been supported if we were able to
survey voluntary participants, and if our participation pool had the same amount of males as
females.
One of the strengths in our research study was our high reliability coefficient of .95. This
number indicates that our results were produced under constant conditions, meaning that there
Although we had a large participant pool, we found a low number in male participant (5
males). As our independent variable groups were not equal, our numbers were biased. This
impacted our results as males and females could interact with their roommates differently, thus
Implications of Findings
Despite both of our hypotheses being rejected, there are still implications that can be used
from the results. While our findings were inconclusive, there are still benefits from this area of
research. Finding the most effective method of choosing a freshman year roommate has the
potential to improve a student’s college experience from their first days on campus. Being able to
start off on the right foot could help provide a more solid foundation for the students in order to
As previously stated, the transition from high school to college is a stressful time for a
young adult. The process of moving away from home, being responsible for your own schedule
and diet, passing classes, and establishing a social life is a lot to ask. The purpose of this study
was to find a way to eliminate the stress of choosing and living with a new roommate. The
previous literature suggested that when residents are matched on the basis on personality, habits,
and values, they tend to have less conflict and closer personal relationships (Buffington 1984).
Finding the most effective way of selecting a roommate that results in the highest satisfaction
will be beneficial to future college students looking to start their careers on the right foot. Had
our hypotheses been supported, this study would have had the ability to be applied to more than
the freshmen class at James Madison. A successful study could have been applied to other
universities around the country and provided a template of sorts to help the roommate selection
process.
The theoretical implications of the findings have the potential to further the research on
Understanding how roommate relationships form over time can add to the research associated
with social penetration theory. A more thorough study of this topic would have to be performed
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE
16
in order to gain a better understanding how college freshmen establish intimacy with their
roommate. This study can add to the previous research on homogenous roommates by Wetzel,
Shwartz, and Vasu (1979) as well as Erb, Renshaw, Short, and Pollard (2014) who analyzed the
importance of college students’ roommate relationships Erb, Renshaw, Short, and Pollard (2014)
analyzed the importance of college students’ roommate relationships and found that positive
roommate relationships might help college students psychologically. Had the hypotheses been
Being one of the first to critically analyze the topic we were unable to find a lot of
previously completed research from which we could work off of, however, now having paved
the way, any future research into the topic will now have our findings as a basis from which they
can begin. Also, further subcategories could be used to better analyze our survey results. We
were limited to findings from only one university that does not have a very diverse pool of
students so many answers came from people who grow up with similar backgrounds. Extending
the research to different universities with different racial and social backgrounds would help to
decipher any similarities/differences between the data to better answer our questions. One of the
weaknesses our study was the fact the only 5 males responded to our survey gave us limited data
upon which we could analyze our 2nd hypothesis. Possibly studies conducted at a male only
campus versus a female only campus will have a much greater impact on determining the
accuracy of our 2nd hypothesis. A more exhaustive study with a greater number of subcategories
as opposed to random selection and social media would also have provided a greater breadth of
knowledge as to what exactly are the options facing incoming college students. The researchers
are aware that students do meet roommates through other means, however, the limited number of
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE
17
participants as well as the limited amount of ways through which they could have been matched
Conclusion
Our study aimed to determine the most effective way to choose a freshman year
roommate based on level of roommate satisfaction. The t-test results rejected both of our
hypotheses. Further studies still need to be conducted to have a better understanding and
explaining of the best ways to find a college roommate that will generate the highest relationship
satisfaction level. Due to our participant pool being primarily female and our survey being
administered early in the first semester, the researchers believe that a more accurate study needs
to be performed at the end of the spring semester. This type of study has the potential to improve
the college experience for incoming freshmen and provide them the important first step of
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Appendix A
Please rate your perception after reading this scenario by rating the following messages from 1-5
(strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, or strongly agree):