Relational Uncertainty, Parent Involvement, and Conversations about the State of the Relationship as Predictors of Relational Turbulence in Romantic Relationships

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated how parent involvement (i.e., parent interference and facilitation) moderates the direct and indirect associations between young adults’ relational uncertainty and turbulence vis-à-vis communication about the state of their romantic relationship. Participants included 264 young adults currently involved in a romantic relationship. Results indicated that parent interference and facilitation are associated with the valence of young adults’ conversations with their romantic partner about relational state. The extent to which parent involvement alters communication between romantic partners depends on how much the young adult values their parent’s opinion. Importantly, the indirect association between relational uncertainty and turbulence through communication valence depended upon parent interference and facilitation, which was further conditioned by whether the child valued their parent’s opinions about their romantic relationship. An important contribution of this study is the illumination of a tension between parent-child and child-partner relationships that may function as a boundary condition for relational turbulence.